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Fake news, in the sense of lying (the circulation of disinformation) is, of course, nothing new. While it is today typically associated with political propaganda or conspiracy theories such as climate change denial, it is as old as human communication itself, and a seemingly inevitable aspect of public discourse. Falsehoods can be used for numerous ends, from myth to satire to outright deception; the effects of fake news can range from laughter to death (Burkhart JM. Libr Technol Rep 53(8):1–36, 2017, p. 5). One might doubt the utility of a buzzword such as “fake news”, but the phenomena indicated by the term nonetheless constitute a serious challenge to modern notions of the “public sphere” as the space in which commonality is established and maintained. The very idea of the Anthropocene, and the contexts in which it appears, is perhaps one of the best illustrations of the risks involved, as well as of the problematic nature of “fake news” as a concept.

In this paper, we briefly review the literature on fake news in order to locate common themes. One of these in particular stands out as central, namely, the perceived threat to liberal democratic institutions and the viability of the very idea of a public sphere on which they rely. We argue that while empirical studies and categorization of actors, motives, effects, and techniques of dissimulation and distortion are useful for understanding the nature of fake news, they tend not to pay careful attention to what is perhaps the greatest challenge, namely, the expansion and consequent reconstitution of the public sphere as a genuine plurality, with all the risks of disintegration that is entailed. We conclude with a proposal, inspired by Steve Fuller, that we acknowledge the post-truth condition as a kind of “fact” of contemporary life in which the most important function of the public sphere is, as Richard Rorty would say, to keep the conversation going. This means that the notion of “fake news” should not be taken at face value, but seen as itself a trope in that discourse. The article ends with a consideration of the fate of the Anthropocene as a scientific term to exemplify this point.

Visual climate change communication has seen increased scholarly attention in recent years, with a strong focus on science communication. However, less is known about the producers of climate imagery. The current article presents results from interviews with 20 photographers engaged in climate change on the challenges they see for climate photography today and the key strategies they use to achieve reach and impact in the digital media environment. Results indicate that practitioners gravitate toward variations of a “gateway strategy,” in which motives and forms of visual presentation are chosen as gateways to bypass the potential resistance or indifference to climate change messages. The article proposes a typology of such visual gateway strategies.

In the last decade, the development of small, remotely operated multicopters with cameras, so-called drones, has made aerial photography easily available. Consumers and institutions now use drones in a variety of ways, both for personal entertainment and professionally. The application of drones in media production and journalism is of particular interest, as it provides insight into the complex interplay between technology, the economic and legal constraints of the media market, professional cultures and audience preferences. The thematic issue Journalism from Above: Drones, the Media, and the Transformation of Journalistic Practice presents new research concerning the role of drones in journalism and media production. The issue brings together scholars representing a variety of approaches and perspectives. A broad selection of empirical cases from Finland, Spain, Sweden, the UK and the US form the basis of an exploration of the changing relations between the media, technology and society. The articles address topics such as: Adaption of drone technology in the newsrooms; audience preferences and reactions in a changing media landscape; the relation between journalists and public authorities who use drones; and attitudes from journalistic practitioners as well as historical and future perspectives.

In this introductory chapter, the editors place the current volume within vulnerability scholarship—in particular, discussions by feminist thinkers who see vulnerability as more than a weakness. They address four aspects that may make vulnerability a problematic theoretical lens: the problem of ontology, the question of privilege, the unease with the state and the fact that the language of vulnerability is very much in motion. Given the Scandinavian focus of this volume, the welfare state and its position in relation to vulnerability is particularly addressed. Finally, the chapter provides an outline of the book while also making clear how the various topics have been presented in four different parts.

With 600,000 listeners, P3 Documentary is the most popular pod radio format in Sweden—a country of 10 million people. The majority of the documentaries stage crime—most often, famous murder cases. In this chapter, 19 of the programmes on murder are analysed with a focus on the choice of murders, the use of victims, perpetrators, family and experts, the horror genealogy and a dramatic form that has increasingly tightened over the years. Hyvönen et al. analyse how listeners are vulnerable to the circulation, invoking and mobilizing of emotions (Ahmed in The Cultural Politics of Emotion. Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 2012), and they show that the documentaries do significant political work. A politics of mobility is distributed and, in controversial cases on migrants, the pain of others is used in processes of othering that compromise the public service aim of impartiality.

Kan man tänka sig att det finns alternativa bildningsvägar och andra kulturella möjligheter utanför centrum som utgår från periferins egna resurser och som inte behöver värderas efter centrums normer? Kan centrum lära sig något av periferin? Eller är kulturen och den kritiska diskussionen reglerad av centristiska normer för vad som anses som värdefullt och korrekt? Texterna i denna bok bygger på föreläsningar från en heldagskonferens i Skräppbo Skola i Riddarhyttan, Västmanland, den 5 juni 2019. Ett samarrangemang mellan Kulturreservatets Folkhögskola, Engaging Vulnerability vid Uppsala universitet och Sparbanksstiftelsen Nya.