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Referred articles by João Carlos Magalhães

Moral critiques of computational algorithms seem divided between two paradigms. One seeks to demo... more Moral critiques of computational algorithms seem divided between two paradigms. One seeks to demonstrate how an opaque and unruly algorithmic power violates moral values and harms users’ autonomy; the other underlines the systematicity of such power, deflating concerns about opacity and unruliness. While the second paradigm makes it possible to think of end users of algorithmic systems as moral agents, the consequences of this possibility remain unexplored. This article proposes one way of tackling this problem. Employing Michel Foucault’s version of virtue ethics, I examine how perceptions of Facebook’s normative regulation of visibility have transformed non-expert end users’ ethical selves (i.e., their character) in the current political crisis in Brazil. The article builds on this analysis to advance algorithmic ethical subjectivation as a concept to make sense of these processes of ethical becoming. I define them as plural (encompassing various types of actions and values, and resulting in no determinate subject), contextual (demanding not only sociomaterial but also epistemological and ethical conditions), and potentially harmful (eventually structuring harms that are not externally inflicted by algorithms, but by users, upon themselves and others, in response to how they perceive the normativity of algorithmic decisions). By researching which model(s) of ethical subjectivation specific algorithmic social platforms instantiate, critical scholars might be able to better understand the normative consequences of these platforms’ power.

This research critically assesses the press coverage of Jeremy Corbyn during his leadership bid a... more This research critically assesses the press coverage of Jeremy Corbyn during his leadership bid and subsequent first months as the leader of the United Kingdom's Labour Party. A content analysis (n = 815) found that the British press offered a distorted and overly antagonistic view of the long-serving MP. Corbyn is often denied a voice and news organisations tended to prize anti-Corbyn sources over favourable ones. Much of the coverage is decidedly scornful and ridicules the leader of the opposition. This analysis also tests a set of normative conceptions of the media in a democracy. In view of this, our research contends that the British press acted more as an attackdog than a watchdog when it comes to the reporting of Corbyn. We conclude that the transgression from traditional monitorial practices to snarling attacks is unhealthy for democracy, and it furthermore raises serious ethical questions for UK journalism and its role in society.

Conference Presentations by João Carlos Magalhães

Papers by João Carlos Magalhães

From 2013 to 2018, Brazil was encapsulated in a multisited crisis that unsettled its political or... more From 2013 to 2018, Brazil was encapsulated in a multisited crisis that unsettled its political order. Unlike other turmoil in the country's history, this one was strongly influenced by ordinary Brazilians who found a space to express themselves politically on digital platforms. This thesis aims to understand how the datafied government of users' visibility by Facebook (Brazil's most popular platform) can be understood to have structured these everyday experiences and, in so doing, to have prompted these individuals to (re)constitute the ways they act and comprehend themselves as citizens. To investigate these processes of civic becoming, the thesis develops a conceptual framework that uses elements of social practices theory to bridge critical notions of citizenship, recognition, datafication, and visibility. It is proposed that one of Facebook's primary power techniques is the attempt to direct how the algorithmic visibility regime that supports its business model i...

This interim report consists of six chapters. Chapter 1 includes a brief introduction and outline... more This interim report consists of six chapters. Chapter 1 includes a brief introduction and outline of the Interim Report. Chapter 2 identifies our research questions, sets out our conceptual framework and methodology.The main research question of this Interim Mapping Report is as follows: How can we map the impact on access to culture in the Digital Single Market (DSM) of content moderation of copyright-protected content on online platforms? For the purposes of this Interim Report, we can divide this research question in the following sub-research questions (SQR) .-SQR1: How to conceptualise and approach from a methodological approach the interdisciplinary analysis of content moderation of copyright-protected content on online platforms and its impact on access to culture in the DSM? -SQR2:How is the private and public regulatory framework for content moderation for online platforms structured? -SQR3:How do the various elements of that regulatory framework interact? -SQR4:How are cop...

Essay on the impact of Coronavirus-related developments on the governance of platforms.

In the last week of June London hosted the 50th meeting of ICANN, one of the key organisations in... more In the last week of June London hosted the 50th meeting of ICANN, one of the key organisations involved in internet governance. LSE post graduate students Anri Van Der Spuy and Joao Carlos Magalhaes attended as part of the NEXTGEN@ICANN programme. They found few signs of fragmentation and more evidence for moves towards global multi-stakeholder governance raising questions about accountability and representation.

The revelations made by NSA (National Security Agency) ex-contractor Edward Snowden in 2013 opene... more The revelations made by NSA (National Security Agency) ex-contractor Edward Snowden in 2013 opened a window of opportunity to discuss the reform of Internet governance. In general terms, this dissertation aims to investigate to what extent Internet governance can be structurally changed. However, it does it through a specific path: examining the limits of Internet governance emergence, or how it can be imagined. The concepts of social imaginary and power are combined to create a theoretical framework able to efficiently assess the public consultation designed to underpin what was presented as one of the responses to the NSA crisis, the Brazilian Marco Civil da Internet (Civil Rights Framework for the Internet), celebrated as a pioneering ‘Internet Constitution’. Through a QCA (Qualitative Content Analysis), this dissertation analyzes 300 of the contributions made to that process. The results suggest, first, that an imaginary critical to the prevailing imaginaries of Internet governa...

Jeremy Corbyn has been variously described in the British press as unelectable, comic and highly ... more Jeremy Corbyn has been variously described in the British press as unelectable, comic and highly dangerous. How should a healthy democracy respond to politicians pursuing a different kind of democracy?

The Conservative Party made clear that they would run an anti-Corbyn campaign, attempting to cont... more The Conservative Party made clear that they would run an anti-Corbyn campaign, attempting to contrast the alleged weaknesses of the leader of the Labour Party with Theresa May’s supposedly superior leadership. An analysis of Tories’ Facebook advertising by LSE researchers Damian Tambini, Nick Anstead and Joao Carlos Magalhaes suggests that this negative campaign included specific instances of demonstrably false or misleading information.

It is evident from their manifesto that the Liberal Democrats want to appeal to “remain” voters. ... more It is evident from their manifesto that the Liberal Democrats want to appeal to “remain” voters. It is by looking at their Facebook ads, however, that we get a clearer idea of how their strategy on Brexit has been unfolding, an analysis by LSE researchers Damian Tambini, Nick Anstead and Joao Carlos Magalhaes suggests. This post is the first in a series that will analyse data collected as part of a joint project recently launched by the LSE Media Policy Project and the “Who Targets Me” initiative. The new project will study political micro-targeting on the social media platform during the 2017 UK general election.

Joao Carlos Magalhaes, LSE MSc Media and Communications Governance student, discusses political b... more Joao Carlos Magalhaes, LSE MSc Media and Communications Governance student, discusses political battles over Brazil’s national ‘Internet Bill of Rights’ against the backdrop of the upcoming Global Multistakeholder Meeting on the Future of Internet Governance that will be held in Sao Paulo in April.

Journalism, 2017

This research critically assesses the press coverage of Jeremy Corbyn during his leadership bid a... more This research critically assesses the press coverage of Jeremy Corbyn during his leadership bid and subsequent first months as the leader of the United Kingdom’s Labour Party. A content analysis ( n = 812) found that the British press offered a distorted and overly antagonistic view of the long-serving MP. Corbyn is often denied a voice and news organisations tended to prize anti-Corbyn sources over favourable ones. Much of the coverage is decidedly scornful and ridicules the leader of the opposition. This analysis also tests a set of normative conceptions of the media in a democracy. In view of this, our research contends that the British press acted more as an attackdog than a watchdog when it comes to the reporting of Corbyn. We conclude that the transgression from traditional monitorial practices to snarling attacks is unhealthy for democracy, and it furthermore raises serious ethical questions for UK journalism and its role in society.

Social Media + Society, 2018

Moral critiques of computational algorithms seem divided between two paradigms. One seeks to demo... more Moral critiques of computational algorithms seem divided between two paradigms. One seeks to demonstrate how an opaque and unruly algorithmic power violates moral values and harms users’ autonomy; the other underlines the systematicity of such power, deflating concerns about opacity and unruliness. While the second paradigm makes it possible to think of end users of algorithmic systems as moral agents, the consequences of this possibility remain unexplored. This article proposes one way of tackling this problem. Employing Michel Foucault’s version of virtue ethics, I examine how perceptions of Facebook’s normative regulation of visibility have transformed non-expert end users’ ethical selves (i.e., their character) in the current political crisis in Brazil. The article builds on this analysis to advance algorithmic ethical subjectivation as a concept to make sense of these processes of ethical becoming. I define them as plural (encompassing various types of actions and values, and r...

Resumo: O artigo apresenta os resultados de uma pesquisa exploratória sobre como pessoas comuns f... more Resumo: O artigo apresenta os resultados de uma pesquisa exploratória sobre como pessoas comuns falam publicamente sobre algoritmos e, ao fazer isso, performam aspectos de suas identidades. Examinamos mensagens publicadas no Twitter em 2017 contendo os termos 'algoritmo do Facebook'. A partir de uma análise de conteúdo qualitativa, identificamos três tipos básicos de " personagens algorítmicos discursivos " : posições subjetivas nas quais a pessoa decide atuar ao falar sobre " o algoritmo ". São eles: os sujeitos críticos, os sujeitos representados, e os sujeitos agentes. Contribuímos com a atual literatura ao demostrar de que maneiras pessoas comuns constroem, intencionalmente, identidades em relação ao " algoritmo " que não foram diretamente estruturadas por esses algoritmos. Ao final, levantamos três hipóteses a serem investigadas: identidades algorítmicas podem ser conscientemente co-construídas, algoritmos são produtos culturais consumíveis, e algoritmos estruturam novos tipos de audiências. Palavras-Chave: Algoritmos. Identidade. Autonomia. Abstract: This article presents the results of an exploratory research on how ordinary people talk about algorithms publicly, and in so doing perform aspects of their identities. To do this, we look at messages posted on Twitter in 2017 containing the terms 'Facebook algorithm'. From a qualitative content analysis, we identify three basic types of " discursive algorithmic characters", that is to say, the subjective positions in which the person decides to act when talking about " the algorithm". They are: the critical subjects, the represented subjects, and the agent subjects. We contribute to the current literature by showing how ordinary people construct discursive identities in relation to the " algorithm ". In the end, we raise three hypotheses to be further investigated: algorithmic identities may be consciously co-constructed, algorithms are consumable cultural products, and algorithms structure new types of audiences.

Moral critiques of computational algorithms seem divided between two paradigms. One seeks to demo... more Moral critiques of computational algorithms seem divided between two paradigms. One seeks to demonstrate how an opaque and unruly algorithmic power violates moral values and harms users’ autonomy; the other underlines the systematicity of such power, deflating concerns about opacity and unruliness. While the second paradigm makes it possible to think of end users of algorithmic systems as moral agents, the consequences of this possibility remain unexplored. This article proposes one way of tackling this problem. Employing Michel Foucault’s version of virtue ethics, I examine how perceptions of Facebook’s normative regulation of visibility have transformed non-expert end users’ ethical selves (i.e., their character) in the current political crisis in Brazil. The article builds on this analysis to advance algorithmic ethical subjectivation as a concept to make sense of these processes of ethical becoming. I define them as plural (encompassing various types of actions and values, and resulting in no determinate subject), contextual (demanding not only sociomaterial but also epistemological and ethical conditions), and potentially harmful (eventually structuring harms that are not externally inflicted by algorithms, but by users, upon themselves and others, in response to how they perceive the normativity of algorithmic decisions). By researching which model(s) of ethical subjectivation specific algorithmic social platforms instantiate, critical scholars might be able to better understand the normative consequences of these platforms’ power.

This research critically assesses the press coverage of Jeremy Corbyn during his leadership bid a... more This research critically assesses the press coverage of Jeremy Corbyn during his leadership bid and subsequent first months as the leader of the United Kingdom's Labour Party. A content analysis (n = 815) found that the British press offered a distorted and overly antagonistic view of the long-serving MP. Corbyn is often denied a voice and news organisations tended to prize anti-Corbyn sources over favourable ones. Much of the coverage is decidedly scornful and ridicules the leader of the opposition. This analysis also tests a set of normative conceptions of the media in a democracy. In view of this, our research contends that the British press acted more as an attackdog than a watchdog when it comes to the reporting of Corbyn. We conclude that the transgression from traditional monitorial practices to snarling attacks is unhealthy for democracy, and it furthermore raises serious ethical questions for UK journalism and its role in society.

From 2013 to 2018, Brazil was encapsulated in a multisited crisis that unsettled its political or... more From 2013 to 2018, Brazil was encapsulated in a multisited crisis that unsettled its political order. Unlike other turmoil in the country's history, this one was strongly influenced by ordinary Brazilians who found a space to express themselves politically on digital platforms. This thesis aims to understand how the datafied government of users' visibility by Facebook (Brazil's most popular platform) can be understood to have structured these everyday experiences and, in so doing, to have prompted these individuals to (re)constitute the ways they act and comprehend themselves as citizens. To investigate these processes of civic becoming, the thesis develops a conceptual framework that uses elements of social practices theory to bridge critical notions of citizenship, recognition, datafication, and visibility. It is proposed that one of Facebook's primary power techniques is the attempt to direct how the algorithmic visibility regime that supports its business model i...

This interim report consists of six chapters. Chapter 1 includes a brief introduction and outline... more This interim report consists of six chapters. Chapter 1 includes a brief introduction and outline of the Interim Report. Chapter 2 identifies our research questions, sets out our conceptual framework and methodology.The main research question of this Interim Mapping Report is as follows: How can we map the impact on access to culture in the Digital Single Market (DSM) of content moderation of copyright-protected content on online platforms? For the purposes of this Interim Report, we can divide this research question in the following sub-research questions (SQR) .-SQR1: How to conceptualise and approach from a methodological approach the interdisciplinary analysis of content moderation of copyright-protected content on online platforms and its impact on access to culture in the DSM? -SQR2:How is the private and public regulatory framework for content moderation for online platforms structured? -SQR3:How do the various elements of that regulatory framework interact? -SQR4:How are cop...

Essay on the impact of Coronavirus-related developments on the governance of platforms.

In the last week of June London hosted the 50th meeting of ICANN, one of the key organisations in... more In the last week of June London hosted the 50th meeting of ICANN, one of the key organisations involved in internet governance. LSE post graduate students Anri Van Der Spuy and Joao Carlos Magalhaes attended as part of the NEXTGEN@ICANN programme. They found few signs of fragmentation and more evidence for moves towards global multi-stakeholder governance raising questions about accountability and representation.

The revelations made by NSA (National Security Agency) ex-contractor Edward Snowden in 2013 opene... more The revelations made by NSA (National Security Agency) ex-contractor Edward Snowden in 2013 opened a window of opportunity to discuss the reform of Internet governance. In general terms, this dissertation aims to investigate to what extent Internet governance can be structurally changed. However, it does it through a specific path: examining the limits of Internet governance emergence, or how it can be imagined. The concepts of social imaginary and power are combined to create a theoretical framework able to efficiently assess the public consultation designed to underpin what was presented as one of the responses to the NSA crisis, the Brazilian Marco Civil da Internet (Civil Rights Framework for the Internet), celebrated as a pioneering ‘Internet Constitution’. Through a QCA (Qualitative Content Analysis), this dissertation analyzes 300 of the contributions made to that process. The results suggest, first, that an imaginary critical to the prevailing imaginaries of Internet governa...

Jeremy Corbyn has been variously described in the British press as unelectable, comic and highly ... more Jeremy Corbyn has been variously described in the British press as unelectable, comic and highly dangerous. How should a healthy democracy respond to politicians pursuing a different kind of democracy?

The Conservative Party made clear that they would run an anti-Corbyn campaign, attempting to cont... more The Conservative Party made clear that they would run an anti-Corbyn campaign, attempting to contrast the alleged weaknesses of the leader of the Labour Party with Theresa May’s supposedly superior leadership. An analysis of Tories’ Facebook advertising by LSE researchers Damian Tambini, Nick Anstead and Joao Carlos Magalhaes suggests that this negative campaign included specific instances of demonstrably false or misleading information.

It is evident from their manifesto that the Liberal Democrats want to appeal to “remain” voters. ... more It is evident from their manifesto that the Liberal Democrats want to appeal to “remain” voters. It is by looking at their Facebook ads, however, that we get a clearer idea of how their strategy on Brexit has been unfolding, an analysis by LSE researchers Damian Tambini, Nick Anstead and Joao Carlos Magalhaes suggests. This post is the first in a series that will analyse data collected as part of a joint project recently launched by the LSE Media Policy Project and the “Who Targets Me” initiative. The new project will study political micro-targeting on the social media platform during the 2017 UK general election.

Joao Carlos Magalhaes, LSE MSc Media and Communications Governance student, discusses political b... more Joao Carlos Magalhaes, LSE MSc Media and Communications Governance student, discusses political battles over Brazil’s national ‘Internet Bill of Rights’ against the backdrop of the upcoming Global Multistakeholder Meeting on the Future of Internet Governance that will be held in Sao Paulo in April.

Journalism, 2017

This research critically assesses the press coverage of Jeremy Corbyn during his leadership bid a... more This research critically assesses the press coverage of Jeremy Corbyn during his leadership bid and subsequent first months as the leader of the United Kingdom’s Labour Party. A content analysis ( n = 812) found that the British press offered a distorted and overly antagonistic view of the long-serving MP. Corbyn is often denied a voice and news organisations tended to prize anti-Corbyn sources over favourable ones. Much of the coverage is decidedly scornful and ridicules the leader of the opposition. This analysis also tests a set of normative conceptions of the media in a democracy. In view of this, our research contends that the British press acted more as an attackdog than a watchdog when it comes to the reporting of Corbyn. We conclude that the transgression from traditional monitorial practices to snarling attacks is unhealthy for democracy, and it furthermore raises serious ethical questions for UK journalism and its role in society.

Social Media + Society, 2018

Moral critiques of computational algorithms seem divided between two paradigms. One seeks to demo... more Moral critiques of computational algorithms seem divided between two paradigms. One seeks to demonstrate how an opaque and unruly algorithmic power violates moral values and harms users’ autonomy; the other underlines the systematicity of such power, deflating concerns about opacity and unruliness. While the second paradigm makes it possible to think of end users of algorithmic systems as moral agents, the consequences of this possibility remain unexplored. This article proposes one way of tackling this problem. Employing Michel Foucault’s version of virtue ethics, I examine how perceptions of Facebook’s normative regulation of visibility have transformed non-expert end users’ ethical selves (i.e., their character) in the current political crisis in Brazil. The article builds on this analysis to advance algorithmic ethical subjectivation as a concept to make sense of these processes of ethical becoming. I define them as plural (encompassing various types of actions and values, and r...

Resumo: O artigo apresenta os resultados de uma pesquisa exploratória sobre como pessoas comuns f... more Resumo: O artigo apresenta os resultados de uma pesquisa exploratória sobre como pessoas comuns falam publicamente sobre algoritmos e, ao fazer isso, performam aspectos de suas identidades. Examinamos mensagens publicadas no Twitter em 2017 contendo os termos 'algoritmo do Facebook'. A partir de uma análise de conteúdo qualitativa, identificamos três tipos básicos de " personagens algorítmicos discursivos " : posições subjetivas nas quais a pessoa decide atuar ao falar sobre " o algoritmo ". São eles: os sujeitos críticos, os sujeitos representados, e os sujeitos agentes. Contribuímos com a atual literatura ao demostrar de que maneiras pessoas comuns constroem, intencionalmente, identidades em relação ao " algoritmo " que não foram diretamente estruturadas por esses algoritmos. Ao final, levantamos três hipóteses a serem investigadas: identidades algorítmicas podem ser conscientemente co-construídas, algoritmos são produtos culturais consumíveis, e algoritmos estruturam novos tipos de audiências. Palavras-Chave: Algoritmos. Identidade. Autonomia. Abstract: This article presents the results of an exploratory research on how ordinary people talk about algorithms publicly, and in so doing perform aspects of their identities. To do this, we look at messages posted on Twitter in 2017 containing the terms 'Facebook algorithm'. From a qualitative content analysis, we identify three basic types of " discursive algorithmic characters", that is to say, the subjective positions in which the person decides to act when talking about " the algorithm". They are: the critical subjects, the represented subjects, and the agent subjects. We contribute to the current literature by showing how ordinary people construct discursive identities in relation to the " algorithm ". In the end, we raise three hypotheses to be further investigated: algorithmic identities may be consciously co-constructed, algorithms are consumable cultural products, and algorithms structure new types of audiences.