Special Issue of FLOW: Media Activism in/for the Age of Trump

The journal is proud to announce the publication of our Special Issue: “Media Activism & Politics in/for the Age of Trump.”

In this special issue, we are excited to offer the contributions of authors *Christopher M. Cox*, *Suzanne Enzerink*, *Hollis Griffin*, *Maggie Hennefeld*, *Sushant Kishore*, *Victor Navarro-Remesal and Ignacio Bergillos*, *Ben Schrader*, *Richard Van Heertum*, and *Melissa Zimdars*. Please see below for more details about their respective columns.

As always, be sure to join the conversation at www.flowjournal.org <http://flowjournal.org/>!

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*Christopher M. Cox, “It’s the Political Economy Stupid: The Case for Media Industries Studies in an Era of Fake News”*

Christopher M. Cox argues for a media industries framework to better understand the production, dissemination, and consumption of fake news.

*Read and comment! <http://www.flowjournal.org/2016/12/its-the-political-economy-stupid/>*

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*Suzanne Enzerink, “Shake My Turban: Alter Egos and Altering Perceptions in Trump’s America”*

Suzanne Enzerink looks at Sikhtoons and other popular culture challenges to Muslim and Muslim-perceived stereotypes.

*Read and comment! <http://www.flowjournal.org/2016/12/shake-my-turban/>*

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*Hollis Griffin, “Biden Memes and “Pussy Grabs Back”: Gendered Anger After the Election”*

Hollis Griffin discusses the popularity of Biden memes, their relation to gendered political discourse, and suggests memes like “Pussy Grabs Back” will persist instead while providing political motivation without similar gender trappings.

*Read and comment! <http://www.flowjournal.org/2016/12/biden-memes-and-pussy-grabs-back/>*

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*Maggie Hennefeld, “Laughter in the Age of Trump”*

Maggie Hennefeld explores the use of humor in the contemporary political landscape, and suggests we need to find a way to employ satire to repoliticize civic discourse in American society.

*Read and comment! <http://www.flowjournal.org/2016/12/laughter-in-the-age-of-trump/>*

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*Sushant Kishore, “Of Bhakts, Deplorables and More: Posthuman Communities Performing Political Partisanship in the Age of Social Media”*

Sushant Kishore explores digital media, the performance of communitas and political partisanship, and posthuman social media communities through a comparative discussion of India’s 2014 General Election and the U.S. 2016 Presidential Election.

*Read and comment! <http://www.flowjournal.org/2016/12/of-bhakts-deplorables-and-more/>*

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*Victor Navarro-Remesal and Ignacio Bergillos, “The Authenticity of Trump, Emotional Democracy, and the Red Pill”*

Víctor Navarro-Remesal and Ignacio Bergillos discuss the relation between post-fact politics and “redpillers,” a loosely organized online community of users espousing an awakening to a conspiracy of injustices brought on by “social justice warriors”, radical feminism, and political correctness.

*Read and comment! <http://www.flowjournal.org/2016/12/the-authenticity-of-trump-emotional-democracy-and-the-red-pill/>*

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*Ben Schrader, “Veteran Activism Against Donald Trump”*

With first-hand experience, Ben Schrader discusses the often underexplored narratives circulating about military veterans, and how some have used the media to offer a counter message.

*Read and comment! <http://www.flowjournal.org/2016/12/veteran-activism-against-donald-trump/>*

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*Richard Van Heertum, “The Scourge of Fake News”*

Richard Van Heertum considers the applicability of Marshall McLuhan’s global village, Guy Debord’s society of the spectacle, and Jean Baudrillard’s simulacra/simulacrum to the 2016 American presidential election.

*Read and comment! <http://www.flowjournal.org/2016/12/fake-news/>*

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*Melissa Zimdars, “Informational Infidelity: What Happens When the “Real” News is Considered “Fake” News, Too?”*

Melissa Zimdars examines the public’s distrust of mainstream news reporting, and argues their coverage in fact contributes to this distrust through “information infidelity” – the process of inaccurately or imprecisely copying, reproducing, and/or relaying information that may already be based on questionable or unreliable sources.

*Read and comment! <http://www.flowjournal.org/2016/12/informational-infidelity/>*

/Flow/ is a critical forum on television and media culture published by the Department of Radio, Television, and Film <http://rtf.utexas.edu> at the University of Texas at Austin <http://www.utexas.edu>. /Flow/’s mission is to provide a space where scholars and the public can discuss media histories, media studies, and the changing landscape of contemporary media.