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stenhansson.bsky.social
Sten Hansson
@stenhansson.bsky.social
4.4K followers 430 following 130 posts
Associate Professor @UniTartu interested in #government #communication #blameavoidance #disasters #disinformation #discoursestudies https://scholar.google.co.uk/citations?hl=en&user=AmIeTJYAAAAJ
scholar.google.co.uk
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stenhansson.bsky.social
Sten Hansson @stenhansson.bsky.social · May 7
New article out now! We propose a framework for studying how changes in political leadership affect the language of government communication journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Social media communication of government agencies should ideally be truthful and impartial to sustain public trust in government and support democratic goals. However, the politicization of agencies may harm the benefits that impartial and engaged communication brings. In this study, we provide a linguistic framework for analyzing how agency politicization is reflected in the language of government social media communication by asking: How does the agency (1) use speech acts (e.g., commands, requests), (2) talk about itself and others, (3) refer to statistical and scientific information, and (4) express positive and negative sentiment? We demonstrate the application of the framework by conducting a case study of the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s messaging on Twitter across administrations with distinct ideological alignments between the agency and its top administrator. The analysis shows that (1) requests and statistical information were used substantially more under the administrator more aligned with the agency mission; (2) expressive speech acts were used more often during the administration less aligned with the agency mission; and (3) posts were generally positive but more so under the administration less aligned with the agency mission, possibly to counteract increased public criticism. We discuss the results in relation to theories of politicization and government communication, and the implications for citizens and public sector communicators using social media sites.
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Reposted by Sten Hansson
chrischirp.bsky.social
Prof Christina Pagel @chrischirp.bsky.social · 1h
🧵🚨

The UK’s independent scientific bodies are highly vulnerable to politicisation - over the past 5 months I've been working with @martinmckee.bsky.social to map out their vulnerabilities and it's not good news.

Today our report is published!
www.ucl.ac.uk/policy-lab/n...

1/11
UK’s arm’s length public bodies are highly vulnerable to politicisation
Seven in ten Britons say it is important for top scientific institutions to be independent in exclusive new polling.
www.ucl.ac.uk
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Reposted by Sten Hansson
stenhansson.bsky.social
Sten Hansson @stenhansson.bsky.social · 2d
Studies of government social media communication may be classified based on:
1️⃣ whether their focus is mainly on the senders, messages, media, audiences, or effects of communication
2️⃣ the domains of government policy and public administration that they address
Government Communication on Social Media: Research Foci, Domains, and Future Directions | Review | Media and Communication
Sten Hansson, Nic DePaula
www.cogitatiopress.com
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stenhansson.bsky.social
Sten Hansson @stenhansson.bsky.social · 2d
Studies of government social media communication may be classified based on:
1️⃣ whether their focus is mainly on the senders, messages, media, audiences, or effects of communication
2️⃣ the domains of government policy and public administration that they address
Government Communication on Social Media: Research Foci, Domains, and Future Directions | Review | Media and Communication
Sten Hansson, Nic DePaula
www.cogitatiopress.com
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Reposted by Sten Hansson
stenhansson.bsky.social
Sten Hansson @stenhansson.bsky.social · 13d
New review of government social media communication research

www.researchgate.net/publication/...
(PDF) Government Communication on Social Media: Research Foci, Domains, and Future Directions
PDF | The aim of this review essay is to draw attention to the diversity of work done in the field of government social media communication research. It... | Find, read and cite all the research you n...
www.researchgate.net
1
stenhansson.bsky.social
Sten Hansson @stenhansson.bsky.social · 7d
Politicization of Government Social Media Communication: A Linguistic Framework and Case Study

journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Politicization of Government Social Media Communication: A Linguistic Framework and Case Study - Nic DePaula, Sten Hansson, 2025
Social media communication of government agencies should ideally be truthful and impartial to sustain public trust in government and support democratic goals. H...
journals.sagepub.com
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Reposted by Sten Hansson
stenhansson.bsky.social
Sten Hansson @stenhansson.bsky.social · 15d
Government Communication on Social Media: Research Foci, Domains, and Future Directions

www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcomm...
Government Communication on Social Media: Research Foci, Domains, and Future Directions | Review | Media and Communication
Sten Hansson, Nic DePaula
www.cogitatiopress.com
1
stenhansson.bsky.social
Sten Hansson @stenhansson.bsky.social · 13d
New review of government social media communication research

www.researchgate.net/publication/...
(PDF) Government Communication on Social Media: Research Foci, Domains, and Future Directions
PDF | The aim of this review essay is to draw attention to the diversity of work done in the field of government social media communication research. It... | Find, read and cite all the research you n...
www.researchgate.net
1
Reposted by Sten Hansson
stenhansson.bsky.social
Sten Hansson @stenhansson.bsky.social · 16d
New article just out: a review of government social media communication literature + suggestions for future research

www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcomm...
Government Communication on Social Media: Research Foci, Domains, and Future Directions. By Sten Hansson & Nic DePaula. The aim of this review essay is to draw attention to the diversity of work done in the field of government social media communication research. It is a rapidly developing area of study that has been approached from multiple disciplinary perspectives and a variety of research traditions. We suggest that studies of government social media communication may be broadly classified based on two characteristics: (a) whether their focus is mainly on the senders, messages, media, audiences, or effects of communication; and (b) the domains of government policy and public administration that they address. We review existing literature along this classification and conclude by suggesting fruitful directions for future research.
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stenhansson.bsky.social
Sten Hansson @stenhansson.bsky.social · 15d
Government Communication on Social Media: Research Foci, Domains, and Future Directions

www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcomm...
Government Communication on Social Media: Research Foci, Domains, and Future Directions | Review | Media and Communication
Sten Hansson, Nic DePaula
www.cogitatiopress.com
1
stenhansson.bsky.social
Sten Hansson @stenhansson.bsky.social · 16d
This may be of interest to #PolComm researchers
@polcomm.bsky.social @ecpr-polcom.bsky.social
stenhansson.bsky.social
Sten Hansson @stenhansson.bsky.social · 16d
New article just out: a review of government social media communication literature + suggestions for future research

www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcomm...
Government Communication on Social Media: Research Foci, Domains, and Future Directions. By Sten Hansson & Nic DePaula. The aim of this review essay is to draw attention to the diversity of work done in the field of government social media communication research. It is a rapidly developing area of study that has been approached from multiple disciplinary perspectives and a variety of research traditions. We suggest that studies of government social media communication may be broadly classified based on two characteristics: (a) whether their focus is mainly on the senders, messages, media, audiences, or effects of communication; and (b) the domains of government policy and public administration that they address. We review existing literature along this classification and conclude by suggesting fruitful directions for future research.
stenhansson.bsky.social
Sten Hansson @stenhansson.bsky.social · 16d
New article just out: a review of government social media communication literature + suggestions for future research

www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcomm...
Government Communication on Social Media: Research Foci, Domains, and Future Directions. By Sten Hansson & Nic DePaula. The aim of this review essay is to draw attention to the diversity of work done in the field of government social media communication research. It is a rapidly developing area of study that has been approached from multiple disciplinary perspectives and a variety of research traditions. We suggest that studies of government social media communication may be broadly classified based on two characteristics: (a) whether their focus is mainly on the senders, messages, media, audiences, or effects of communication; and (b) the domains of government policy and public administration that they address. We review existing literature along this classification and conclude by suggesting fruitful directions for future research.
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stenhansson.bsky.social
Sten Hansson @stenhansson.bsky.social · 16d
Communication-Related Vulnerability of War Refugees:

The Case of Ukrainians Escaping Russia's Invasion

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Risk, Hazards & Crisis in Public Policy | PSO Journal | Wiley Online Library
When war refugees arrive in a host country, they may find themselves in a vulnerable condition and struggle to cope in a foreign setting. This article presents a systematic approach to identifying im...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
1
Reposted by Sten Hansson
stenhansson.bsky.social
Sten Hansson @stenhansson.bsky.social · 29d
Discourse of fear in strategic narratives: The case of Russia’s Zapad war games

journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
journals.sagepub.com
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Reposted by Sten Hansson
stenhansson.bsky.social
Sten Hansson @stenhansson.bsky.social · 29d
Discourse of fear in strategic narratives: The case of Russia’s Zapad war games

www.researchgate.net/publication/...
(PDF) Discourse of fear in strategic narratives: The case of Russia's Zapad war games
PDF | Modern military training exercises often include an information warfare component. Combat manoeuvres and weapon tests may be combined with... | Find, read and cite all the research you need on R...
www.researchgate.net
2 2
Reposted by Sten Hansson
stenhansson.bsky.social
Sten Hansson @stenhansson.bsky.social · 23d
A systematic approach to identifying communication-related challenges that should be addressed by policymakers of the host country to reduce the vulnerability of refugees
stenhansson.bsky.social
Sten Hansson @stenhansson.bsky.social · 23d
New article out now on how to reduce communication-related vulnerability of war refugees

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Communication-Related Vulnerability of War Refugees: The Case of Ukrainians Escaping Russia's Invasion. When war refugees arrive in a host country, they may find themselves in a vulnerable condition and struggle to cope in a foreign setting. This article presents a systematic approach to identifying important communication-related challenges that should be addressed by policymakers at the national level of the host country to reduce the vulnerability of refugees. Building upon the theoretical framework of “communication-related vulnerability to disasters,” a case study of Ukrainian refugees fleeing to Estonia to escape Russia's invasion in 2022 is used to map out the ways in which displaced individuals may become more vulnerable due to various individual, social-structural, and situational factors that impede access to, understanding of, or responding to risk and crisis information. The data from 15 semi-structured interviews with key crisis managers show how access to vital information may be disrupted by a digitized communication environment unfamiliar to the refugees and the authorities' lack of experience in dealing with mass immigration. It also reveals how barriers to understanding arise from limited language skills and exposure to disinformation, and how crisis managers cannot provide adequate support if they experience information overload and poor interagency cooperation.
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Reposted by Sten Hansson
stenhansson.bsky.social
Sten Hansson @stenhansson.bsky.social · 23d
New article out now on how to reduce communication-related vulnerability of war refugees

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Communication-Related Vulnerability of War Refugees: The Case of Ukrainians Escaping Russia's Invasion. When war refugees arrive in a host country, they may find themselves in a vulnerable condition and struggle to cope in a foreign setting. This article presents a systematic approach to identifying important communication-related challenges that should be addressed by policymakers at the national level of the host country to reduce the vulnerability of refugees. Building upon the theoretical framework of “communication-related vulnerability to disasters,” a case study of Ukrainian refugees fleeing to Estonia to escape Russia's invasion in 2022 is used to map out the ways in which displaced individuals may become more vulnerable due to various individual, social-structural, and situational factors that impede access to, understanding of, or responding to risk and crisis information. The data from 15 semi-structured interviews with key crisis managers show how access to vital information may be disrupted by a digitized communication environment unfamiliar to the refugees and the authorities' lack of experience in dealing with mass immigration. It also reveals how barriers to understanding arise from limited language skills and exposure to disinformation, and how crisis managers cannot provide adequate support if they experience information overload and poor interagency cooperation.
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stenhansson.bsky.social
Sten Hansson @stenhansson.bsky.social · 23d
A systematic approach to identifying communication-related challenges that should be addressed by policymakers of the host country to reduce the vulnerability of refugees
stenhansson.bsky.social
Sten Hansson @stenhansson.bsky.social · 23d
New article out now on how to reduce communication-related vulnerability of war refugees

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Communication-Related Vulnerability of War Refugees: The Case of Ukrainians Escaping Russia's Invasion. When war refugees arrive in a host country, they may find themselves in a vulnerable condition and struggle to cope in a foreign setting. This article presents a systematic approach to identifying important communication-related challenges that should be addressed by policymakers at the national level of the host country to reduce the vulnerability of refugees. Building upon the theoretical framework of “communication-related vulnerability to disasters,” a case study of Ukrainian refugees fleeing to Estonia to escape Russia's invasion in 2022 is used to map out the ways in which displaced individuals may become more vulnerable due to various individual, social-structural, and situational factors that impede access to, understanding of, or responding to risk and crisis information. The data from 15 semi-structured interviews with key crisis managers show how access to vital information may be disrupted by a digitized communication environment unfamiliar to the refugees and the authorities' lack of experience in dealing with mass immigration. It also reveals how barriers to understanding arise from limited language skills and exposure to disinformation, and how crisis managers cannot provide adequate support if they experience information overload and poor interagency cooperation.
2 2
stenhansson.bsky.social
Sten Hansson @stenhansson.bsky.social · 23d
New article out now on how to reduce communication-related vulnerability of war refugees

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Communication-Related Vulnerability of War Refugees: The Case of Ukrainians Escaping Russia's Invasion. When war refugees arrive in a host country, they may find themselves in a vulnerable condition and struggle to cope in a foreign setting. This article presents a systematic approach to identifying important communication-related challenges that should be addressed by policymakers at the national level of the host country to reduce the vulnerability of refugees. Building upon the theoretical framework of “communication-related vulnerability to disasters,” a case study of Ukrainian refugees fleeing to Estonia to escape Russia's invasion in 2022 is used to map out the ways in which displaced individuals may become more vulnerable due to various individual, social-structural, and situational factors that impede access to, understanding of, or responding to risk and crisis information. The data from 15 semi-structured interviews with key crisis managers show how access to vital information may be disrupted by a digitized communication environment unfamiliar to the refugees and the authorities' lack of experience in dealing with mass immigration. It also reveals how barriers to understanding arise from limited language skills and exposure to disinformation, and how crisis managers cannot provide adequate support if they experience information overload and poor interagency cooperation.
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stenhansson.bsky.social
Sten Hansson @stenhansson.bsky.social · 29d
Discourse of fear in strategic narratives: The case of Russia’s Zapad war games

www.researchgate.net/publication/...
(PDF) Discourse of fear in strategic narratives: The case of Russia's Zapad war games
PDF | Modern military training exercises often include an information warfare component. Combat manoeuvres and weapon tests may be combined with... | Find, read and cite all the research you need on R...
www.researchgate.net
2 2
stenhansson.bsky.social
Sten Hansson @stenhansson.bsky.social · 29d
Discourse of fear in strategic narratives: The case of Russia’s Zapad war games

journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
journals.sagepub.com
1 2
Reposted by Sten Hansson
msenn.bsky.social
Martin Senn @msenn.bsky.social · Aug 19
We (i.e. @lorehayek.at ek.at, @christianschw.bsky.social, @sarahdingler.bsky.social and I ) address this question of how to identify rhetorical styles in crisis communication in a new (#openaccess) publication in Policy Studies: doi.org/10.1080/0144...
Mapping rhetorical styles in political crisis communication
Crisis communication is inherently rhetorical, as it seeks to persuade audiences to accept interpretations, follow directives, and trust leaders. Studies that apply Aristotle's triad of appeals to ...
doi.org
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stenhansson.bsky.social
Sten Hansson @stenhansson.bsky.social · Aug 15
Russia uses discourses of fear in multiple ways in its strategic security narratives

journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1...
Discourse of fear in strategic narratives: The case of Russia’s Zapad war games - Andreas Ventsel, Sten Hansson, Mari-Liis Madisson, Vladimir Sazonov, 2021
Modern military training exercises often include an information warfare component. Combat manoeuvres and weapon tests may be combined with large-scale informati...
journals.sagepub.com
stenhansson.bsky.social
Sten Hansson @stenhansson.bsky.social · Aug 15
How to build resilience against hostile information influence activities

journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
journals.sagepub.com
stenhansson.bsky.social
Sten Hansson @stenhansson.bsky.social · Aug 14
In online comments, "incivility is associated with impulsive, fast thinking, while civil discourse will sometimes require slower, more deliberate practices" journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
journals.sagepub.com
Reposted by Sten Hansson
stenhansson.bsky.social
Sten Hansson @stenhansson.bsky.social · Aug 9
Ruth Wodak's new #openaccess chapter:

Normalising, Mainstreaming, and Democratic Backsliding: Discursive Shifts to the Populist Far Right

link.springer.com/chapter/10.1...
Normalising, Mainstreaming, and Democratic Backsliding: Discursive Shifts to the Populist Far Right
Many context-dependent socio-political, economic, cultural, and historical factors, apart from the performance of allegedly charismatic leaders, lead to the rise of the populist far right, supported b...
link.springer.com
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