Diggit Magazine

Ellen DeGeneres: talk show host or CIA agent?

Paper

Iris Dumoulin

16/03/2020

11 minutes to read

In 2018, people believed that Eric Trump suggested that Ellen DeGeneres is part of a hidden government within the US. This essay analyzes how this conspiracy theory has come into existence, who plays a role in it, and what this means online.

The whitewashing of the 'art hoe' movement

Article

Marieke Weeda

13/01/2020

10 minutes to read

This article explores how the art hoe movement, meant as a space of creative expression for PoC (People of Colour) artists, got whitewashed into a mere aesthetic disconnected from its origins.

Squatting Slavs: a culture, a stereotype or just a meme?

Article

Kristiana Naydenova

08/11/2018

18 minutes to read

Is the Squatting Slav phenomenon helping Slavs express themselves or is it ruining their reputation? This article explores the emergence, historical background, popularization, culture and language of the meme.

What do real men eat? Online culture wars and the science of soy boys

Column

Piia Varis

23/10/2018

6 minutes to read

Somewhere in 2017, soy boy got added to the terms used as insults to describe supposedly unmanly men. It became the latest insult of choice for the alt-right.

US Elections 2020

File

On racism and how to read Hannah Arendt

Column

Ana Deumert

27/02/2020

8 minutes to read

In this column Ana Deumert looks at the work of Hannah Arendt. She asks how scholars can engage with her work, given the persistent presence of racist tropes in her writings.

Amplifying the far-right: Reassessing the case of Pepe the Frog

Article

Annick Walravens

03/08/2020

12 minutes to read

Pepe the Frog started as an innocent enough meme that became associated with the alt-right. In this article, I discuss how this happened through the hybrid media system.

Matcha: Don't let yourself be fooled by superfoods

Article

Federica Morgandi

02/05/2019

9 minutes to read

Superfoods are hot, and so is Matcha, the powdered green tea. Matcha is more than just tea, it is a superfood, an identity emblem and a social media phenomenon.

Toen Cory Monteith doodging, stierf ook Finn Hudson

Article

Emily Tang

12/12/2017

4 minutes to read

Een analyse van de discursieve regimes rond de dood van de Amerikaanse acteur Cory Monteith.

QArmy vs. QAnon Debunkers: The role of confirmation bias

Paper

Federica Morgandi

23/03/2020

12 minutes to read

QAnon is an American conspiracy theory associated with Trump supporters and right-wing politics. How can one article - which seeks to explain what QAnon is - influence debunkers and believers of the theory?

Online Dating app digital culture online love

Dating apps as part of our culture

Article

Manon Bijl

29/10/2019

12 minutes to read

Dating apps enable people to do things they have never done before. It are truly global products, but they only work because they are embedded in local (sub)cultural practices.

Foucault neoliberalism Academia.edu money

The end of Academia.edu: how business takes over, again

Column

Ico Maly

22/02/2018

3 minutes to read

Academia.edu used to be a refreshing and very useful platform for academics and students all over the world. That has ended with academia.edu introducing the ‘paid search’, says Ico Maly (Tilburg University).

QAnon: The alt-right war machine and social media mobilization

Article

Daniel Obubo

13/07/2020

12 minutes to read

QAnon is a far-right conspiracy theory about an on-going war between President Donald Trump and the "deep state". This article examines how QAnon followers use social media to their benefit by inviting skeptics to read between the lines.

How to really talk to your conservative brother-in-Law

Column

Christian Chun

18/06/2019

7 minutes to read

Liberals in the US should not be confused with the Left. In fact, they often argue within frames derived from neoliberalism.

Taylor Swift and the story of the Swifties fandom

Article

Amber van As

Jady van Leusden

Sam van Alebeek

Niels van der Ven

01/11/2018

15 minutes to read

The fans of pop icon Taylor Swift call themselves the Swifties. This article will provide an introduction to this social group and its functioning.

Importance of social media in the globalized internet age

Trump, social media and the first Twitter-based Presidency

Article

Jordan Hollinger

07/05/2018

12 minutes to read

Trump's social media presence is the most salient factor behind his success in the recent presidential election. Trump's usage of internet and social media to connect with his supporters is much more successful than traditional forms of media.

What is wrong with the Confucius Institute?

Paper

Linmin Zheng

09/10/2019

13 minutes to read

From the need to know about China to a crackdown on Confucius Institutes across the West. In this article, the relation between the Confucius institutes, China and power are analysed.