In this cluster we are interested in examining the intersection of politics, technology, and the regimes of knowledge production. We are specifically interested in the moral and political economy of digital platforms, search engines and generative AI. We explore the role of these and other information infrastructures in shaping our societies, their economic and socio-cultural organisations. We are particularly interested in conflicts over truths and other knowledge claims, and the way they manifest in such phenomena as hybrid wars, propaganda, conspiracy theories, dis-, mis- and mal-information. We are also interested in how they have given rise to various forms of control over access to information, such as fact-checking, content moderation and algorithms, as well as media and information literacy programs. Our focus is not limited to online spheres nor is our work restricted to Big Data. Harnessing the strength of traditional ethnographic research methods, we are also exploring how offline and online spaces interrelate, how humans and nonhumans interact and shape each other’s cultural and temporal realities.

As a research node, we want to facilitate a more systematic yet culturally sensitive conversation about the issues concerning the politics of truth and knowledge production and democracy today. Our meetings are scheduled around monthly reading group meetings, as well as other joint activities such as workshops and small research projects.

Elzbieta Drazkiewicz & Olof Sundin