Jan 27, 2020 05:49 PM
(This post was last modified: Jan 28, 2020 08:58 AM by C C.)
Political Islamophobia may look differently online than in person
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/...012720.php
EXCERPT: Islamophobia was rampant on social media during the midterm elections, but researchers say future Muslim candidates running for office should know that the hatred they see online may be different than what they experience on the campaign trail.
In a study, the researchers found that the majority of anti-Muslim tweets related to the 2018 midterm elections were sent by either a select few thought leaders with large followings on social media, or by bots -- software that autonomously tweets or retweets content. Additionally, Muslim candidates' face-to-face experiences with constituents were generally more positive than what they experienced online.
Shaheen Pasha, an assistant teaching professor at Penn State, said the findings help dispel the myth that the vast majority of people in the U.S. are anti-Muslim. "People retweet these messages of hate because they feel like they're jumping on a bandwagon where they think everyone feels that way," Pasha said. "But in reality, it's just a handful of people and a lot of bots who are creating this content. These hateful messages are snowballing even though the majority of people may not agree or actually feel that way."
[...] The researchers found that while the Muslim candidates reported little Islamophobia while meeting with constituents face to face, there was a narrative surrounding the candidates on social media that was "disproportionately Islamophobic, xenophobic, racist, and misogynistic," according to the report, recently published by the Social Science Research Council...(MORE - details)
Voters may perceive fonts used in campaigns to have liberal or conservative leanings
https://vtnews.vt.edu/articles/2020/01/c...fonts.html
RELEASE: “I was driving through the region and noticed the same campaign was using a different font on signs in rural areas than on the signs in town,” said Haenschen, an assistant professor in the Department of Communication. “I thought, why would this candidate be using multiple fonts?”
An expert in political messaging, Haenschen and Daniel Tamul, also an assistant professor in the Department of Communication, transformed the question into a captivating research project. “What’s in a Font?: Ideological Perceptions of Typography” questions the potential impact on voters if fonts are found to have political attributes.
Haenschen and Tamul reached the following key conclusions through the study:
• Individuals perceive fonts to have liberal or conservative leanings.
• The more people view a font as aligned with their ideology, the more they favor it.
• Fonts that fall under the serif category — ones festooned with a small line or stroke — are viewed as more conservative than fonts in the sans serif group, though differences exist within font families.
“This research is of interest to anyone who cares about political communications, and the results have clear implications for political campaign professionals,” said Haenschen. “When you’re choosing a candidate’s visual identity, you need to consider how people perceive that font.”
The findings came from two survey experiments.
The first used typeface classification, such as serif or sans serif, and typeface styles (regular, bold, italic). A total of 987 survey participants read the phrase “the quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog” presented in each typeface style, and two typefaces representing the serif and sans serif categories: Times New Roman and Gill Sans. The respondents then rated the typeface as liberal or conservative, and answered several demographic measures related to their political ideology, party affiliation, age, gender, and race.
During the second experiment, Haenschen and Tamul used a wider range of typefaces, including multiple typefaces within the same font family. Participants read a phrase or a name written in one of two serifs (Jubilat or Times New Roman), one of two sans serifs (Gill Sans or Century Gothic), and one display font (Sunrise, Birds of Paradise, or Cloister Black Light). The researchers said they chose the Jubilat font because it was used in Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential bid, and Century Gothic because of its close approximation to the Gotham font used by former President Barack Obama during his 2008 campaign.
Overall, results showed that typefaces, typeface classifications, and typeface styles are perceived to have different ideological leanings, and partisanship moderates ideological perception.
Haenschen emphasized that the exploratory story suggests many avenues for further research. “This study shows that font plays a role in American political communication, conveying ideology through the anatomy of its letterforms,” said Haenschen. “Through this research, we lay the groundwork for future studies that may identify relationships between fonts and persuasive outcomes in political communication.”
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/...012720.php
EXCERPT: Islamophobia was rampant on social media during the midterm elections, but researchers say future Muslim candidates running for office should know that the hatred they see online may be different than what they experience on the campaign trail.
In a study, the researchers found that the majority of anti-Muslim tweets related to the 2018 midterm elections were sent by either a select few thought leaders with large followings on social media, or by bots -- software that autonomously tweets or retweets content. Additionally, Muslim candidates' face-to-face experiences with constituents were generally more positive than what they experienced online.
Shaheen Pasha, an assistant teaching professor at Penn State, said the findings help dispel the myth that the vast majority of people in the U.S. are anti-Muslim. "People retweet these messages of hate because they feel like they're jumping on a bandwagon where they think everyone feels that way," Pasha said. "But in reality, it's just a handful of people and a lot of bots who are creating this content. These hateful messages are snowballing even though the majority of people may not agree or actually feel that way."
[...] The researchers found that while the Muslim candidates reported little Islamophobia while meeting with constituents face to face, there was a narrative surrounding the candidates on social media that was "disproportionately Islamophobic, xenophobic, racist, and misogynistic," according to the report, recently published by the Social Science Research Council...(MORE - details)
Voters may perceive fonts used in campaigns to have liberal or conservative leanings
https://vtnews.vt.edu/articles/2020/01/c...fonts.html
RELEASE: “I was driving through the region and noticed the same campaign was using a different font on signs in rural areas than on the signs in town,” said Haenschen, an assistant professor in the Department of Communication. “I thought, why would this candidate be using multiple fonts?”
An expert in political messaging, Haenschen and Daniel Tamul, also an assistant professor in the Department of Communication, transformed the question into a captivating research project. “What’s in a Font?: Ideological Perceptions of Typography” questions the potential impact on voters if fonts are found to have political attributes.
Haenschen and Tamul reached the following key conclusions through the study:
• Individuals perceive fonts to have liberal or conservative leanings.
• The more people view a font as aligned with their ideology, the more they favor it.
• Fonts that fall under the serif category — ones festooned with a small line or stroke — are viewed as more conservative than fonts in the sans serif group, though differences exist within font families.
“This research is of interest to anyone who cares about political communications, and the results have clear implications for political campaign professionals,” said Haenschen. “When you’re choosing a candidate’s visual identity, you need to consider how people perceive that font.”
The findings came from two survey experiments.
The first used typeface classification, such as serif or sans serif, and typeface styles (regular, bold, italic). A total of 987 survey participants read the phrase “the quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog” presented in each typeface style, and two typefaces representing the serif and sans serif categories: Times New Roman and Gill Sans. The respondents then rated the typeface as liberal or conservative, and answered several demographic measures related to their political ideology, party affiliation, age, gender, and race.
During the second experiment, Haenschen and Tamul used a wider range of typefaces, including multiple typefaces within the same font family. Participants read a phrase or a name written in one of two serifs (Jubilat or Times New Roman), one of two sans serifs (Gill Sans or Century Gothic), and one display font (Sunrise, Birds of Paradise, or Cloister Black Light). The researchers said they chose the Jubilat font because it was used in Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential bid, and Century Gothic because of its close approximation to the Gotham font used by former President Barack Obama during his 2008 campaign.
Overall, results showed that typefaces, typeface classifications, and typeface styles are perceived to have different ideological leanings, and partisanship moderates ideological perception.
Haenschen emphasized that the exploratory story suggests many avenues for further research. “This study shows that font plays a role in American political communication, conveying ideology through the anatomy of its letterforms,” said Haenschen. “Through this research, we lay the groundwork for future studies that may identify relationships between fonts and persuasive outcomes in political communication.”