Studien “Harmlös - eller inte?”  undersöker memes skapade av den högerextrema organisationen Nordiska motståndsrörelsen (NMR) för att se hur de framställer etablissemanget i  kopplat till covid-19. Studien undersöker även hur dessa memes är konstruerade. Memes är ett framgångsrikt digitalt verktyg som används på internet. Deras största kännetecken är ironi och humor. På senare tid har memes även börjat användas som opinionsverktyg då de levererar budskap snabbt och effektivt. Högerextrema organisationer i synnerhet använder memes särskilt flitigt för att nå ut och locka nya följare. Teorier som använts för att uppnå studiens syfte är representationsteorin, ideologier samt teorin om intertextualitet. Analysen har genomförts på 13 memes i bild- och textform genom en kritisk diskursanalys baserad på en anpassad version av Carvalhos (2008) modell för diskursanalys. Analysstegen som används är layout & struktur, objekt & aktörer, språk, grammatik och retorik samt ideologiska ståndpunkter. Resultatet visar att Nordiska Motståndsrörelsen i sina memes anpassar nyheter som rör coronapandemin till att passa sin fiendebild. NMR framställer etablissemanget som något främmande och opålitligt i samband med Covid-19. NMR använder humor, ironi och satir för att kritisera makthavarna. Dessutom finns starka kopplingar till högerextrema idéer, bland annat antisemitism, homofobi samt våld- och dödshot. / The study "Harmless - or not?" examines memes created by Swedish far-right organization The Nordic Resistance Movement (NMR) to see how they portray the establishment in connection with covid-19. The study also examines how these memes are constructed. Memes are a successful digital tool used on the internet. Their biggest characteristics are irony and humor. Recently, memes have also started to see use as tools of opinion-making, as users can derive meaning from them quickly and efficiently. Right-wing extremist organizations in particular use memes particularly extensively to reach out and attract new followers. Theories used to achieve the purpose of the study are ideology, the theory of representation and the theory of intertextuality. The analysis has been carried out on 13 memes in image and text form through a critical discourse analysis based on an adapted version of Carvalho's (2008) model for  discourse analysis. The analysis steps used are layout & structure, objects & actors, language, grammar and rhetoric as well as ideological positions. The result shows that the Nordic Resistance Movement in its memes adapts news related to the corona pandemic to fit its image of the enemy. NMR portrays the establishment as something alien and hostile in connection with Covid-19. NMR uses humor, irony and satire to criticize those in power. In addition, there are strong links to right-wing extremist ideas, including anti-Semitism, homophobia and threats of violence and death.

Participatory culture inside a filter bubble – A content analysis of the network society Twitch.tv’s external communication. The aim of this essay was to study how user-generated content is being used and how it is presented by Twitch Interactive, Inc. in its external communication, more specifically how the discourse of this content is shaped on Twitter. To gather the information needed a quantity based content analysis was made, ranging from 1-31st of October 2015. From this data patterns where detected and a discourse analysis based on Berglez version of van Dijks model was conducted on six of the Twitter posts that followed said pattern. This was done to answer how the discourse was shaped and what the consequences could be of using such a pattern. Analyzing the results was done using theory from strategic marketing researchers such as Larsåke Larsson, Lars Palm, Ulf Dahlqvist and Magnus Linde. Furthermore theorist like Gripsrud, Pariser, Lindgren, Jenkins, Ford and Green were used to describe and analyze the field of culture, more specifically participatory and popular culture. The conclusion of the study was that Twitch representation of user-generated material and the culture it represents was unjustified and could be seen as a filter bubble. The results showed that the majority of content was young white male gamers where as other research on the field of gaming culture shows a more equal split between genders. The individuals that where represented in the content could be seen as objects of admiration and association. Discussion led to the belief that Twitch may not possess the power to change to discourse due to the strong economic need of the consumers. This need was concluded to arise from the fact that the platform and its culture is much like participatory culture and where this culture has been taken to a commercial level.

Titel: When online hate becomes a threat to democracy - a qualitative study about editorial writers experiences of online hate The aim of this study has been to, through an intersectional gender perspective, identify how interviewed editorial writers at Swedish newspapers experiences, and are affected by, online hate and how the effects of online hate could have consequences for the democratic function of journalism. This has been done through qualitative interviews with eight editorial writers from different Swedish newspapers, four female and four male, two of which has another ethnic background than Swedish. The theoretical framework for the study has been intersectional gender theory, the theory of participatory culture and Sara Ahmed’s theory of the link between emotion and rhetoric. The results of the study are categorised into four different themes: ”Racist online hate”, ”Sexist online hate”, ”Emotional online hate” and ”Consequences of online hate”. The results show that female editorial writers with another ethnic background than Swedish are getting an disproportionate amount of racist and sexist online hate because of their gender and ethnicity. Further, the study shows that female editorial writers are exposed to sexism which is something that is absent in the online hate directed towards the male writers The male editorial writers tends to reduce their experiences of online hate, even though some of them are or have been exposed to aggravated libel, on the grounds that female colleagues are worse affected. The study shows that subjects that trigger online hate are integration, feminism, national security and Romany beggars. The consequences of online hate that the editorial writers identifies are very individual. The ones that are worst exposed tell stories about personal consequences such as fear of safety in public, need of protected identities and self-censorship. The ones that don’t consider themselves very affected by online hate talk more about societal consequences such as the threat of online haters tone becoming the norm on the internet, the need of  common guidelines for social media, and a threat against the freedom of speech. The conclusion of the study is that the experiences of online hate is very individual for the editorial writers, but there are clear structures that shows that women and persons with another ethnic background that Swedish are exposed to sexist and racist online hate. Some subject are triggering for online hate and there are consequences, such as self-censorship, that can be seen as threats to democracy and freedom of speech. Keywords: social media, online hate, hate speech, editorial writer, journalism, media, democracy, freedom of speech, gender, race, ethnicity, participatory culture, sexism, racism, emotional rhetoric

Det digitala samhället kännetecknas av konstant utveckling och snabb föränderlighet, vilket har skapat rollen influencer: En person som används av företag och varumärken för att marknadsföra produkter eller tjänster. Denna studie fokuserar särskilt på influencerns egen bild av sitt yrke och genom att tematisera frågor utifrån teorier rörande kommersialisering, självpresentation, deltagarkultur och opinionsbildning. I studien undersöks hur tre utvalda svenska influencers inom mode och skönhet på Instagram ser på sin roll i och med kommersialiseringen vilket analyseras utifrån samma teorier inom medie- och kommunikationsvetenskapen som har nämnts ovan. Studien genomförs genom kvalitativa forskningsintervjuer där influencerna själva är utgångspunkten. Genom studien blir det tydligt att förstå hur kommersialiseringen har påverkat mediesamhället och tidigare roller har bytts ut. Kändisar är inte bara längre skådespelare och artister, opinionsledare behöver inte längre vara traditionella medier, en person kan ha olika roller i olika mediesammanhang och annonsering är inte längre något som går från producent till konsument. Utvecklingen av både medier och sociala kanaler har förändrat medielandskapet helt och de gränserna mellan avsändare och mottagare suddas ut. Det är inte bara marknadskommunikationen som har monopol på forskning rörande annonsering och marknadsföring. Avlutningsvis visar studien att influencerna har en sammansatt och komplex roll som uppstått i och med kommersialiseringen och är en följd utav en konvergens av det digitala medielandskapet. / The digital society is characterized by constant development and rapid change, which has created the role influencer: A person used by companies and brands to market products or services. This study focuses on influencers own image of their occupation and by thematising issues based on theories of commercialization, self-presentation, participatory culture and opinion formation. The essay is exploring how three selected Swedish influencers in fashion and beauty at Instagram are looking at their role in commercialization which is analyzed on the basis of the same theories in media and communication science that have been mentioned above. The study is conducted through qualitative research interviews where the influencers themselves are the starting point. Through the study it becomes clear to understand how commercialization has affected the media community and previous roles have been replaced. Celebrities are no longer just actors and artists, opinion leaders no longer need to be traditional media, a person can have different roles in different media contexts and advertising is no longer something that goes from producer to consumer. The development of both media and social channels has changed the media landscape in so much as the boundaries between senders and recipients are being erased. It is not only market communication that has a monopoly on research relating to advertising and marketing. Lastly the study shows that influencers have a composite and complex role that has emerged through commercialization and is a consequence of a convergence of the digital media landscape.

This essay focuses on the digitalization of art canonisation in the game Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Nintendo/Nintendo EPD, 2020). Furthermore, the purpose of this essay is to understand which artworks the game incorporates in its museum, as well as how the player can interact with the artworks in question. Bolter and Grusin's remediation theory are thoroughly explored through the material, as well as the maintaining of norms through representation. The conclusion is that the game allows the player to interact restrictedly with the art in the museum, but is allowed more freedom outside of it. However, the restricted interaction is strongly incorporating known norms of how to behave and interact with the museum as an institution. These norms are also applicable in situ – outside of the museum's pixelated world. The aura of the artworks is compromised through the notion that the player can obtain any number of original artworks. Still, the originality and aura of the artworks are secured through the institutionalised environment in the museum. / Uppsatsen behandlar digitaliserad konsts kanonisering i spelet Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Nintendo/Nintendo EPD, 2020). Uppsatsens syften är att analysera vilka konstverk som spelet integrerar i sitt museum och hur dessa verk kategoriseras, samt hur spelaren kan interagera med konstverken. Bolter och Grusins remedieringsteorier behandlas utifrån denna frågeställning med fokus på digitalisering och konstrepresentation. Slutsatsen är att spelarens interaktion med konstverken på det digitala museet är begränsad, men att spelaren får mer frihet i spelets andra miljöer. Således följs etablerade konventioner kring hur besökaren på ett museum ska bete sig. Konstverkens aura förändras då spelaren kan inneha hur många originalverk som helst. Trots denna omdefinierade aura stärks däremot verkens originalitet av museets institutionaliserade och auktoritära presentation.