This study’s purpose is, through content analysis, to interpret the portrayal of the human-rights movement Black Lives Matter during the spring and summer of 2020. Further intentions include examining and explaining the portrayals of the Swedish and the American movements. Theories of Framing and Moral-Panic are used for understanding expressions and consequences of portraiture. Using a hermeneutic approach, 53 articles from four of Sweden's leading newspapers were interpreted. Main findings were that Swedish news media tend to portray the movement in Sweden in more opinion-based terms compared to the movement in the USA. The opinions were mainly expressed when reporting on the movement during demonstrations in Sweden while reports of the USA, mainly portrayed the movement in police- violence but balanced terms. Previous research contributed to an increased understanding of the research field and to problematizing the study's results in relation to its theoretical framework. Our conclusion is that Swedish news media tend to portray Black Lives Matter in more polarized terms if current affairs are taking place in a geographical vicinity. The movement in relation to violence is also portrayed differently depending on the country- specific history of the movement. Although patterns could be discerned, the relationship is complex based on the scope of the essay and empirical material. / Syftet med denna studie är att genom innehållsanalys tolka svenska nyhetsmediers porträttering av människorättsrörelsen Black Lives Matter under våren och sommaren 2020. Studien undersöker också potentiella skillnader i porträttering av rörelsen i Sverige och rörelsen i USA samt hur porträtteringen kan förklaras. Gestaltningsteori och teorin om moralpanik användes för att skapa förståelse för porträtteringens uttryck och konsekvenser. Med ett hermeneutiskt angreppssätt tolkades 53 artiklar från fyra av Sveriges ledande nyhetstidningar. Studiens främsta resultat visade att svenska nyhetsmedier tenderar att porträttera rörelsen i Sverige i mer åsiktsbaserade termer i förhållande till rörelsen i USA. Åsikterna tog sig främst i uttryck vid rapportering om rörelsen under demonstrationer i Sverige jämfört med rapporteringen i USA som främst porträtterade rörelsen balanserat och neutralt, men i termer av polisvåld mot svarta afroamerikaner. Tidigare forskning bidrog till ökad förståelse för forskningsfältet och till att granska studiens resultat i förhållande till det teoretiska ramverket. Studiens slutsats är att svenska nyhetsmedier tenderar att porträttera Black Lives Matter i mer polariserade termer om rörelse-aktuella händelser pågår i en geografisk närhet. Rörelsen i förhållande till våldsutövning porträtteras dessutom på olika sätt beroende på vilken historia rörelsen har i respektive land. Trots att mönster kunnat urskiljas är relationen dock komplex baserat på uppsatsens omfång och empiriska material.

Ungdomsbrottsligheten i Sverige är ett stort problem enligt svensk nyhetsmedia, och vi möts av nyhetsrapportering om att våldsbrott bland unga blir allt vanligare och att det sker att oftare. Narkotikamissbruk, vandalisering, misshandel och organiserad brottslighet är skenande hos unga lagöverträdare. Det svenska rättssystemet saknar verktygen att lösa denna situation, då ungdomskriminella ofta är återfallsförbrytare. Det är bara en tidsfråga innan du faller offer för den här kriminella vågen. Är det här den verklighet vi lever i, eller är det en verklighet som nyhetsmedia väljer att visa genom att skapa sin egen bild av verkligheten? Resultaten av denna studie visar att svensk nyhetsmedia följer en egen agenda och använder några återkommande diskurser för att uppnå detta. Genom att använda en kritisk diskursanalys kommer författarna till denna studie undersöka hur svensk nyhetsmedia beskriver unga lagöverträdare. / Juvenile delinquency is a big problem in Sweden according to the news media. The newsreports that violent crime among youths is occurring frequently, now more than ever before. Drug use, vandalism, abuse, and organized crime is rampant among the criminal youth. The Swedish justice system is powerless to resolve this issue, as reoffenders are a common occurrence among the criminal youth. It is only a matter of time before you fall victim to this criminal wave. Is this the reality we live in, or is what the news media wants to portray by constructing their own version of reality? The findings of this study show that the news media are pursuing their own agenda and are using an occurring set of discourses as their means. The authors of this study are, through a critical discourse analysis, investigating how the news media are describing the criminal youth in Sweden.

This thesis investigates what parental mediation strategies parents of children under twouse and what factors are involved that influence their decisions. To find that out, it isalso of interest to this work how these parents integrate media in daily routines withtheir children and for what purposes they turn to digital devices. To find out about theirmediation strategies, six families kept a media diary and ten first-time parents wereinterviewed as follow-up to the diaries. The results of both methods showed that parentsof children under two mainly used restrictive mediation, active mediation and distantmediation. Restrictions regarded time, content, devices, and location. However, theserestrictions were no clear formulated rules yet but affiliate to the high awareness that theparticipants stated regarding media use with their children, probably also influenced bymoral panics. The same applies to distant mediation: even though media was used inmoments when parents needed to do e.g. housework, most parents refrained fromreferring to media as a ‘babysitter’. The most intriguing finding is that first-time parentsrestrict their own media use so that their child’s screen time is as little as possible.Acting as role models, parents would hide their devices when their child becomes awareor look at it somewhere where their child cannot see it. Factors that influencedmediation strategy decisions were high awareness also due to official recommendations,concerns of parents, positive notions towards media use, tendency to show more aschild grows, and negative emotions connected to media. With these findings, this thesiscontributes to contemporary research on mediation strategies of parents under twowhich is still scarce now but needs to be considered in further research as this studyproves.

The increasingly ubiquitous role of smartphones in our everyday lives causes concerns regarding our relationship with the devices. While some raise the question whether smartphones are addictive (Alter 2017; Lopez-Fernandez 2019), others regard this concern as the most recent manifestation of moral panics (Cashmore, Cleland & Dixon 2018; Leick 2019). Meanwhile advocates of the attention economy argument claim that the problem is the design of technology occupying users’ attention (CHT 2019a-d). Somewhere in between, media and communication studies search for empirical evidence. From this vantage point of ideas this study explores the role of Screen Time, shaping and being shaped by this discourse. As a feature of Apple’s iOS software it is supposed to support users in regulating their smartphone use. Applying the walkthrough method as proposed by Light, Burgess & Duguay (2018) combined with an analysis of user experiences, shows how the technology company shapes a concept of self-regulation for users to adopt to. A concept, which first and foremost follows corporate and not the users’ best interest. This thesis poses the the question whether we are slaves to our screens, but arrives at the conclusion that we carry chains of self-regulation. The question remains, how we can create more sustainable and meaningful environments for protecting our attention.

This theoretical thesis employs critical discourse analysis to scrutinise the construction of video game addiction in Swedish press from 1991 to 2017, and examines its potential contribution to a moral panic. Our research is based on the assumption that media discourse influences societal norms, which in turn, can profoundly affect individuals and groups. Our primary results suggest that a small group of moral entrepreneurs, mainly treatment providers for gambling disorders, were given an ideological near-monopoly over the conceptualization of video game addiction in the Swedish press. They popularised diagnostic criteria and screening tools by paraphrasing those developed for substance addiction, thus implying that this new disorder was just like substance addiction and therefore warranted similarly aggressive interventions and possibly clinical treatment. Additionally, we found that the often alarmist concerns over players' health, education, social life and other presumed harms of video game addiction were not primarily rooted in the games themselves. Our sample shows that the discourse seamlessly expanded to incorporate new sources of addiction, treating video games, the Internet, computers, social media, smart phones, and, most recently, screens as functional synonyms.  Our analysis suggests that the moral panic might be a manifestation of deeper societal factors, including traditional patriarchal family values, prejudice against youth, expectations of neuro-normativity, and conservative views on digital media. Recognizing the influence of these underlying factors may help parents, teachers, social workers and gamers themselves navigate the still-ongoing media trend of using pop psychology and amateur neuroscience to justify patriarchal and capitalist morality tales.

This thesis explores the perception and trustworthiness of the users towards artificial intelligence (AI) -generated content on social media platforms. The study employs the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Framing Theory as theoretical frameworks to understand the factors influencing user attitudes and behaviours towards AI-generated content. The research explores three main areas: user trust in AI-generated content, the ability to differentiate between AI-generated and human-generated content and the ethical implications of AI-generated content use. The research employed an online survey with 100 participants to collect quantitative data on their experiences and perceptions of AI-generated content. The findings indicate a range of trust levels in AI-generated content, with a general trend towards cautious acceptance. The results also reveal a gap between the participants' perceived and actual abilities to distinguish between AI-generated content, underlining the need for improved media literacy and awareness initiatives. The thematic analysis of the respondent's opinions on the ethical implications of AI-generated content underscored concerns about misinformation, bias, and a perceived lack of human essence. The study connects these findings with the TAM and Framing Theory, suggesting that perceived usefulness and the framing of AI-generated content significantly impact user trust and acceptance. This research contributes to the ongoing discourse on AI in media and communications, underlining the need for a more nuanced understanding and responsible AI ecosystem development. It highlights the crucial role of public perception, awareness, and ethical considerations in shaping the future of AI-generated content on social media platforms

Denna studie undersöker de retoriska strategierna som används i debattartiklar publicerade av den svenska tidningen Svenska Dagbladet angående användningen av ChatGPT, en avancerad chatbot, inom utbildning. Analyserna av dessa artiklar syftar till att belysa argumenten för och emot ChatGPT:s användning i skolor och bidra till en bättre förståelse av hur retorik kan forma åsikter om teknologi och innovation inom utbildning. För att uppnå detta använder studien en teoretisk ram som hämtar från konstruktivismteori, medialisering, moralpanik, teknisk determinism och retorikteori och dess övertygande enheter. Forskningsfrågorna som utforskas i denna studie inkluderar skildringen av ChatGPT:s påverkan på utbildning, de retoriska strategierna som används i artiklarna och den potentiella påverkan av moralisk panik på attityder till teknologi och innovation inom utbildning. Resultaten avslöjar att artiklarna presenterade både positiva och negativa perspektiv på användningen av ChatGPT och att olika retoriska strategier, såsom appel till auktoritet och känslor, användes för att påverka läsarnas åsikter. Studien bidrar till en bättre förståelse av retorikens roll i att forma attityder till användningen av avancerade chatbots inom utbildning och betonar vikten av att överväga flera teoretiska perspektiv vid analys av mediediskurs. / This study examines the rhetorical strategies used in opinion articles published by the Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet regarding the use of ChatGPT, an advanced chatbot, in education. The analysis of these articles aims to shed light on the arguments for and against ChatGPT's use in schools and to contribute to a better understanding of how rhetoric can shape opinions about technology and innovation in education. To accomplish this, the study employs a theoretical framework that draws from constructivism theory, mediatization, moral panic, technological determinism, and rhetoric theory and its persuasive devices. The research questions explored in this study include the portrayal of ChatGPT's impact on education, the rhetorical strategies used in the articles, and the potential influence of moral panic on attitudes towards technology and innovation in education. The findings reveal that the articles presented both positive and negative perspectives on the use of ChatGPT, and that various rhetorical strategies, such as appeals to authority and emotion, were used to influence readers' opinions. The study contributes to a better understanding of the role of rhetoric in shaping attitudes towards the use of advanced chatbots in education and highlights the importance of considering multiple theoretical perspectives in analyzing media discourse.

[pt] Das gangues urbanas aos estilos de música e dança extravagantes, das subculturas, com seus estilos espetaculares, à contracultura, o comportamento dos jovens ao longo do século XX desafiou, constantemente, o status quo. Assim, condensando medos e angústias relacionados ao questionamento da ordem social, nasceram diversos pânicos morais relacionados a práticas juvenis, entre essas, vários estilos de dança. O objetivo desse trabalho é refletir sobre a relação entre pânico moral e juventude por meio da dança, mais especificamente a partir do lindy hop e do funk carioca. A primeira parte da pesquisa apresenta a teoria do pânico moral a partir das obras de seus principais autores, Stanley Cohen, Stuart Hall et al e Erich Goode e Nachman Ben-Yehuda. Em seguida, é feita uma análise da relação existente entre as noções de desvio e juventude, buscando-se entender a importância da primeira no processo de construção social da segunda. Nessa parte, que tem Jon Savage, José Machado Pais, Ross Haenfler e Helena Abramo como principais referências, também são apresentados exemplos de pânicos morais motivados por práticas juvenis. Por fim, com base nas obras de Jon Savage, Kendra Unruh, Hermano Vianna e Micael Herschmann, entre outros, e em notícias publicadas pela imprensa, são analisadas as trajetórias do lindy hop e do funk carioca, duas danças que, embora nascidas em épocas e lugares diferentes, possuem um histórico semelhante, marcado pelo pânico moral que causaram. Duas danças nascidas em comunidades negras que, como tantas outras que fizeram sucesso ao longo do século XX, escandalizaram muitos na época de seu surgimento, mas que, apesar disso, ou por causa disso, ficaram muito populares entre jovens dos mais diferentes contextos sociais. Os anos passam, as gerações e os estilos de dança mudam, mas as críticas e os preconceitos continuam, o que confirma que esses pânicos não desaparecem completamente, eles apenas mudam de forma, uma vez que, embora pareçam direcionados a danças específicas, são, frequentemente, um reflexo do mesmo preconceito destinado aos criadores desses estilos. / [en] From urban gangs to extravagant styles of music and dance, from subcultures with their spectacular styles to counterculture, the behavior of young people throughout the twentieth century constantly challenged the status quo. Therefore, condensing fears and anxieties related to the questioning of the social order, several moral panics related to youth practices were born, among them, many associated to dance styles. The objective of this work is to reflect on the relationship between moral panic and youth through dance, more specifically, through lindy hop and carioca funk. The first part of the research presents the moral panic theory based on the works of its main authors, Stanley Cohen, Stuart Hall et al and Erich Goode & Nachman Ben-Yehuda. Then, the relationship between the notions of deviance and youth is analyzed, seeking to understand the importance of the former in the process of social construction of the latter. In this part, which has Jon Savage, José Machado Pais, Ross Haenfler and Helena Abramo as main references, examples of moral panics motivated by youth practices are also presented. Finally, based on the works of Jon Savage, Kendra Unruh, Hermano Vianna and Micael Herschmann, among others, and on news published by the press, the last part analyses the trajectories of lindy hop and carioca funk, two dances that, although born in different times and places, have a similar history, marked by the moral panic they caused. Two dances born in black communities that, like several others that have made success during the twentieth century, shocked many at the time of their arising, but, despite that, or because of that, became very popular among young people from different social contexts. As the years go by, generations and styles of dance change, but criticism and prejudice remain, confirming that these panics do not disappear completely, they only change shape, once, although they seem to be directed at specific dances, they are often a reflection of the same prejudice directed to the creators of these styles.

Reports of gang violence have become a prominent focus in the media. The rhetoric used in reporting gang related crime will have an impact on the reader's perception of the seriousness of gang crime. The media coverage can result in outbreaks of ‘moral panic’, where by aspecific group is demonized and held responsible for societal problems. The aim of this thesis is to study representations of gang related crime, and specifically two rival gangs from Rinkeby, Stockholm, “Shottaz” and “Dödspatrullen”, in the two Swedish newspapers Aftonbladet and Svenska Dagbladet, between the years 2019 and 2022. This is done using critical discourse analysis as method and theory, complemented by the concept of moral panic. The analysis is based on Fairclough’s three-dimensional methodological framework; a sample of newspaper articles dealing with gang crime are analyzed with a focus on the degree of modality, intertextuality and interdiscoursivity. The resultant findings indicate the nature of a dominant discourse and another, less prominent counter discourse. The dominant discourse can be assumed to play a role in triggering moral panic; the findings indicate a link between the story society tells itself about gang crime and a concomitant societal moral panic relating to gang crime. Only one of the newspaper articles analyzed for this study interviews peopleactually affected by gang conflict. This identified counter discourse offers a more nuanced representation of the conflict between “Shottaz” and “Dödspatrullen”, and of the Stockholm suburb of Rinkeby. Music also contributes to the alternative counter narrative, telling a story at odds with that which this study indicates to be the dominant societal discourse.

The term crisis of journalism is widely discussed nowadays. This paper examines whether journalism is in crisis, or whether it is a development caused by changes in the digital world. It also examines possible causes of this crisis and transformation in the digital world. One of the main causes of this is a perceived loss of credibility of the information given to the public. Therefore, there is a deeper interpretation of what trust and trustworthiness is and what can dis/trust cause in the society. In the context of the changes which journalism faces today, it describes the transformation of the role of the audience to active self-editor and outlines how the audience must orientate in the news itself. Otherwise, the media focused on earnings will continue to thrive on sensationalism and moral panics that will negatively effect social reality. In the empirical part this paper deals with the case of Břeclav in 2012, which is an exemplary example of moral panic with consequences.