The everyday politics of rumours and information : Bangladesh’s hybrid media system and party-state corporatism

Authoritarianism in Bangladesh has been on the rise in the past decade. The Awami League government has systematically narrowed the corridor for free speech and critical journalism. Simultaneously, grassroots and DIY online news portals have been burgeoning in localities across the country, complementing Bangladesh’s hybrid media system. They appear as a well-oiled autocratic state propaganda machine from a bird’s eye view, reproducing AL hegemony in the digital public space. However, we propose to understand them as contingencies of local individual power considerations that reveal the party-state system’s elusiveness. The online portals’ cost-effectiveness enables ambitious grassroots politicians to engage in everyday politics of rumours and information to build a favourable political image and soil the reputation of inter- and intra-party opponents. These platforms reflect the digital transition of a systemic form of everyday visibility politics and factional competition, effectively reinforcing AL’s hegemony as party-state corporatism.

ISBN:9789811643149

Jaar van publicatie:2022

Toegankelijkheid:Closed