<html aria-label="message body"><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="overflow-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;"><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><div style="overflow-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;"><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dear AoIR community,</span></div><br><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We are delighted to announce the publication of our new special issue in New Media & Society, centred on the <b><i>*contextual* nature of violence on digital platforms.</i></b> Edited by Tom Divon, Martin Lundqvist, and myself, the issue intervenes in ongoing debates about platform governance, harm, power, visibility, and circulation by arguing that <b><i>violence cannot be understood in isolation from the infrastructures, cultural narratives, governance regimes, and local dynamics through which it emerges</i></b>.</span></div><br><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Our issue brings together 10</span><span style="font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">papers that collectively showcase how attending to context transforms our understanding of the platformization of violence, offering conceptual, empirical, and methodological pathways for advancing research in this rapidly evolving field. Together, the papers travel across platforms and practices, from TikTok and Twitch to internet shutdowns in Sri Lanka and sites of participatory warfare, engaging with phenomena such as image-based abuse, memetic misogyny, conspiracy imaginaries, and self-documented terrorism.</span></div><br><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The issue is available at: </span><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/toc/nmsa/28/4" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://journals.sagepub.com/toc/nmsa/28/4</span></a><span style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div><br><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Table of contents:</span></div><br><ul style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li dir="ltr" aria-level="1" style="list-style-type: disc; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Morales, E., Divon, T., & Lundqvist, M. (2026). Context matters: Understanding the platformization of violence. New Media & Society, 28(4), 1395–1411. </span><a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448261420823" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448261420823</span></a><span style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div></li><li dir="ltr" aria-level="1" style="list-style-type: disc; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cabanzo Valencia, M., & Guntrum, L. G. (2026). Race, ethnicity, and technology-facilitated violence: The experience of activists in Chocó, Colombia. New Media & Society, 28(4), 1412–1436. </span><a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448251344286" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448251344286</span></a><span style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div></li><li dir="ltr" aria-level="1" style="list-style-type: disc; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">de Keulenaar, E., & Alves dos Santos, M., Jr. (2026). Normative dislocation: When platforms moderate without memory. New Media & Society, 28(4), 1437–1463. </span><a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448251364814" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448251364814</span></a><span style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div></li><li dir="ltr" aria-level="1" style="list-style-type: disc; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Petersen, L. N., & Johansen, M. B. (2026). The violence of online conspiracy theories. New Media & Society, 28(4), 1464–1481. </span><a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448251336431" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448251336431</span></a><span style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div></li><li dir="ltr" aria-level="1" style="list-style-type: disc; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Eriksson Krutrök, M., & Mitchell, J. (2026). Memeing the moniker: The stickiness of gang myths in Swedish news legacy media and TikTok. New Media & Society, 28(4), 1482–1503. </span><a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448251338507" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448251338507</span></a><span style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div></li><li dir="ltr" aria-level="1" style="list-style-type: disc; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ryder, C. (2026). Affordance folklore: Truth, community and visibility during Sri Lanka's Internet shutdowns. New Media & Society, 28(4), 1504–1523. </span><a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448251357264" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448251357264</span></a><span style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div></li><li dir="ltr" aria-level="1" style="list-style-type: disc; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Morse, T., & Altaratz, D. (2026). Witnessing carnage: Self-documented terrorism and the moral challenges of decentralized digital platforms. New Media & Society, 28(4), 1524–1549. </span><a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448251370967" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448251370967</span></a><span style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div></li><li dir="ltr" aria-level="1" style="list-style-type: disc; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Harris, B. C., Tran, C. H., & Persaud, C. J. (2026). Contextual governance & androcentric hegemony on Twitch.tv. New Media & Society, 28(4), 1550–1570. </span><a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448251370965" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448251370965</span></a><span style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div></li><li dir="ltr" aria-level="1" style="list-style-type: disc; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Henry, N., Vowles, C., & Beard, G. (2026). "Doing gender": A digital ethnography of image-based abuse perpetration. New Media & Society, 28(4), 1571–1591. </span><a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448251356604" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448251356604</span></a><span style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div></li><li dir="ltr" aria-level="1" style="list-style-type: disc; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Özkula, S. M., & Prieto-Blanco, P. (2026). Just a meme? The role of context in mythologies of memetic misogyny. New Media & Society, 28(4), 1592–1618. </span><a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448251396942" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448251396942</span></a><span style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div></li><li dir="ltr" aria-level="1" style="list-style-type: disc; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Chonka, P. (2026). (De)constructing research 'expertise' in transnational participatory warfare. New Media & Society, 28(4), 1619–1637. </span><a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448251357269" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204); font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448251357269</span></a><span style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div></li></ul><br><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We hope our issue offers insights that can traverse across contexts and be useful to the AoIR community and beyond. We also warmly welcome any questions or reflections it might spark.</span></div><br><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Warm regards,</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Esteban Morales, Tom Divon, and Martin Lundqvist</span></div><div>
<meta charset="UTF-8"><div>--<br><b>Esteban Morales Velásquez</b><br>Assistant Professor / Media and Digital Cultures<br>Centre for Media and Journalism Studies<br>University of Groningen<br>https://www.esteban-morales.com </div>
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