Criminal Justice: A Social Media Analysis

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Introduction According to Rose and Fox (2014), 'widespread use of social networking sites [...] has changed the way individuals engage with news, political institutions and society' (p. 774); as a result, the public perception of social issues, understanding of crime, and assumptions about criminal justice are challenged by a new digital and online interactive environment. Therefore, given the present-day critique of the established news media and their institutionalised misrepresentation, new ways of looking at crime pose a threat to the hegemonic cultural production of information. This essay is going to discuss this potential problem for news outlets, drawing on examples from the Black Lives Matter justice movement and its reliance on citizen journalism. Firstly, it will be shown how the contemporary media environment changes, and what alternatives to the mainstream are available through online platforms. On the other hand, the text will consider complexities embedded in online communication networks, and ways in which citizen journalism affects representations of criminal justice. The final analysis will examine impacts of the unregulated digital culture on social discourses in general, and public activism within criminal justice in …show more content…

Consequently, according to the critics, citizen journalism does not appear to be a straightforward answer to the contemporary 'crises of information', demonstrating complexities that invariably endanger the foundations and legitimacy of the state. Therefore, the contemporary media counter-culture and its take on justice fundamentally violate hegemonic assumptions about crime and its suppression through institutionalised

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