From Simulation to Hyperreality: The Role of Simulacra in Visual Formats in the News Production and Consumption Process by Citizen Journalists

Abstract:

Social media empowers ordinary citizens to act as citizen journalists by producing and consuming news, thereby challenging the traditional role of the institutional press. While this paradigm shift offers empowering potential, it also engenders adverse consequences, such as the proliferation of misinformation. Drawing on Baudrillard, we argue that news production and consumption by citizen journalists fosters hyperreality. From this theoretical perspective, social media simulates reality through simulacra—such as digital images—making them perceived as more authentic than physical reality itself. Baudrillard delineates this phenomenon by distinguishing three orders of simulacra: (1) faithful, (2) distorted, and (3) hyperreal representations. Utilizing this taxonomy, we conducted a semiotic analysis of shared simulacra on Reddit during the Israel–Hamas War. From our findings, we introduce a theoretical framework that explicates the distinct yet interrelated roles of simulacra within this news ecosystem and its influence on citizen journalists’ engagement. In the first order, they demonstrate reactive engagement, in which simulacra magnify specific aspects of physical reality. In the second order, citizen journalists interrogate simulacra to uncover perceived injustices and validate ideological beliefs, thereby reframing reality. At the highest order, they are implicated in conjuring hyperreal representations through simulacra that superimpose upon physical reality, effectively creating new realities.

Bio:

Andreas Eckhardt is a Full Professor of Information Systems at the University of Innsbruck, a position he has held since October 2020. Prior to this, he served as a Professor at GGS Heilbronn for over five years. He has held visiting professorships at both the University of Hong Kong and Washington State University. Andreas earned his Ph.D. in Information Systems from Goethe University Frankfurt and, before his academic career, worked as a project manager for DaimlerChrysler Taiwan in Taipei. His research focuses on the digital transformation of organizations and societies, cybersecurity, digital innovation, ethical IS development and design, and the distribution of misinformation in social media. He has published widely, including two books, multiple book chapters, conference proceedings, and more than 100 articles in leading journals such as MIS Quarterly, Journal of Information Technology, Information Systems Journal, Journal of Strategic Information Systems, European Journal of Information Systems, Information & Management, and MIS Quarterly Executive. Andreas has received several awards for his contributions to research, teaching, and community service, including the Magid Igbaria Outstanding Paper Award, the ECIS Best Research in Progress Paper Award, and the SIGADIT Best Paper Award. He has chaired tracks and held multiple positions in the conference committees ofmajor IS conferences (e.g., ICIS, ECIS, AMCIS, and WI). Currently, he is a Senior Editor for the Information Systems Journal and serves on the editorial board of AIS Transactions on Human-Computer Interaction. Additionally, he is Past Chair of the AIS Special Interest Group on Adoption and Diffusion of Information Technology (SIGADIT) and the BAFIT Network, as well as a member of the AIS Diversity & Inclusion Committee.