2021
Hassan, Lobna; Deterding, Sebastian; Harviainen, J. Tuomas; Hamari, Juho
Fighting Post-truth with Fiction: An Inquiry into Using Storification and Embodied Narratives for Evidence-Based Civic Participation Journal Article
In: Storyworlds, vol. 11, iss. 1, pp. 51-78, 2021, ISSN: 2156-7204.
Abstract | Links | Tags: Civic participation, E-participation, Gamification, Post-truth, Storification
@article{Hassan2021,
title = {Fighting Post-truth with Fiction: An Inquiry into Using Storification and Embodied Narratives for Evidence-Based Civic Participation},
author = {Lobna Hassan and Sebastian Deterding and J. Tuomas Harviainen and Juho Hamari},
url = {https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202108106489
},
doi = {10.1353/stw.2019.0000},
issn = {2156-7204},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-08-10},
journal = {Storyworlds},
volume = {11},
issue = {1},
pages = {51-78},
abstract = {Post-truth politics have thrived in the shape of fake news and the feeding of divisive emotional nar- ratives. While stories with strong emotional appeal can mobilize, their current post-truth form erodes the ideals of democracy. Some have called to counter the post-truth populism with evidence-based participa- tion, both online and offline. However, such initiatives overlook that human cognition is constitutively narra- tive and emotional and so are practices of deliberative, participatory democracy. A more viable strategy is to embrace emotional narratives and to mobilize civic participation in forms aligned with democratic ideals through evidence-based storification and gamifica- tion. As such, the attraction to emotional narratives becomes a positive force toward evidence-based en- gagement. To further strengthen the implementation of evidence-based, narrativist, deliberative democracy, we employ and propose the analytical frameworks of (1) storification, the use of explicit emotional narra- tive for engagement purposes; and (2) embodied narratives, the implicit narratives conveyed by the very existence of narratives. Accordingly, we discuss partic- ipation initiatives that highlight the potential of these analytical and design frameworks in positively influ- encing civic engagement.
},
keywords = {Civic participation, E-participation, Gamification, Post-truth, Storification},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Post-truth politics have thrived in the shape of fake news and the feeding of divisive emotional nar- ratives. While stories with strong emotional appeal can mobilize, their current post-truth form erodes the ideals of democracy. Some have called to counter the post-truth populism with evidence-based participa- tion, both online and offline. However, such initiatives overlook that human cognition is constitutively narra- tive and emotional and so are practices of deliberative, participatory democracy. A more viable strategy is to embrace emotional narratives and to mobilize civic participation in forms aligned with democratic ideals through evidence-based storification and gamifica- tion. As such, the attraction to emotional narratives becomes a positive force toward evidence-based en- gagement. To further strengthen the implementation of evidence-based, narrativist, deliberative democracy, we employ and propose the analytical frameworks of (1) storification, the use of explicit emotional narra- tive for engagement purposes; and (2) embodied narratives, the implicit narratives conveyed by the very existence of narratives. Accordingly, we discuss partic- ipation initiatives that highlight the potential of these analytical and design frameworks in positively influ- encing civic engagement.