Periodic Reporting for period 1 - MAP-MISINFO (Considering Rurality and Religion: Mapping an Alternative Media Ecosystem and Addressing Gaps in Misinformation Research)
Reporting period: 2024-06-01 to 2026-05-31
Media research is crucial to combating information disorders impacting democracy, revealing sociotechnical systems impacting the spread of (mis)information---but there are gaps to address. For example, rural, broadcast media ecosystems used by largely religious populations are under-researched. Moreover, significant changes in political economy have deeply impacted journalistic institutions, whose work in liberal democracies has historically been relied upon to stave off information disorder. Qualitative inquiry can complement quantitative methods, providing insight into how societies navigate facts and falsehoods. In this context, the EU-funded MAP-MISINFO project investigates the particulars of (mis)information spread and adequacy of media research practices. The project’s case study, Utah, has high density of broadcast media, a stark rural/urban divide, and maintains one majority religion. This case study will be used to analyze and evaluate standard media research approaches.
The MAP-MISINFO fellowship explored the intersection of misinformation and media research practices, with particular attention to 1) conjunctural changes in institutional journalism and how it is researched in connection to misinformation; and 2) rural, religious, and partisan media contexts in connection to misinformation.The first workstream comprised of continued work on two related book projects. The first, currently titled the Anti-Disinformation Assemblage, is jointly written with a team of international journalism scholars. It draws from 60+ interviews with fact checkers, editorial actors, platform representatives, and NGO representatives, and focuses on the rise and struggles of fact checking misinformation en masse on social media platforms. The second book project is a solo monograph that examines privacy debates in the 2010s as a precursor to current political and economic approaches to misinformation and democracy.
Focusing on Utah (a region in the USA) as a case study, the project’s second work stream focused on empirically mapping misinformation-related dynamics within an alternative media ecosystem. This ecosystem is deeply shaped by rurality, significant broadcast dependencies, and the institutional and cultural presence of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. This research stream included two intensive data collection phases before and after the 2024 presidential elections. As detailed in this report, data was collected through both on-the-ground ethnographic methods as well as large scale live audio streaming. This research stream entailed the convening an international pre‑conference at the 2024 American Sociological Association in Montreal (‘On‑The‑Ground Research with the Right in 2024’). A closed-door follow up workshop was held at the University of Copenhagen’s Fulgsang Manor (Lolland) in June 2025.
Focusing on Utah (a region in the USA) as a case study, the project’s second work stream focused on empirically mapping misinformation-related dynamics within an alternative media ecosystem. This ecosystem is deeply shaped by rurality, significant broadcast dependencies, and the institutional and cultural presence of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. This research stream included two intensive data collection phases before and after the 2024 presidential elections. As detailed in this report, data was collected through both on-the-ground ethnographic methods as well as large scale live audio streaming. This research stream entailed the convening an international pre‑conference at the 2024 American Sociological Association in Montreal (‘On‑The‑Ground Research with the Right in 2024’). A closed-door follow up workshop was held at the University of Copenhagen’s Fulgsang Manor (Lolland) in June 2025.
The fellow conducted ethnographic interviews, content analysis, and mapping of media flows in Utah over the course of two intensive fieldwork periods. These fieldwork periods were before and after the US 2024 presidential elections. Special attention was given to rural talk radio and religious media, revealing their powerful role in shaping misinformation and its reception.
Workshops and a major ASA preconference were organized to foster scholarly dialogue.
The fellow also collaborated with the SCAM project (Norwegian Research Council), which mapped the fact-checking ecosystem and produced outputs such as the forthcoming book manuscript ‘The Anti‑Disinformation Industry’.
Key results beyond state of the art included:
• Empirical insights and data from ethnographic fieldwork and broadcast data collection during 2024 US elections.
• Identification of rural and religious dynamics shaping misinformation dissemination.
• Outputs including peer-reviewed publications, book chapters, and a co-edited journal special issue, and book manuscripts (under development).
• Organization of international workshop and a public-facing preconference.
Workshops and a major ASA preconference were organized to foster scholarly dialogue.
The fellow also collaborated with the SCAM project (Norwegian Research Council), which mapped the fact-checking ecosystem and produced outputs such as the forthcoming book manuscript ‘The Anti‑Disinformation Industry’.
Key results beyond state of the art included:
• Empirical insights and data from ethnographic fieldwork and broadcast data collection during 2024 US elections.
• Identification of rural and religious dynamics shaping misinformation dissemination.
• Outputs including peer-reviewed publications, book chapters, and a co-edited journal special issue, and book manuscripts (under development).
• Organization of international workshop and a public-facing preconference.