Revue Algérienne de la Communication

Media Intervention: People Of Determination As Social Media Influencers

Auteurs : Alali Maha . Lugo-ocando Jairo .

Résumé

Conceptual agendas of inclusion have been largely untested in academic studies that examine the topic of disability representation on social media in the Gulf, although little empirical evidence has been given on how disability is operationalized by content creators as a mediating agent between the content and the social environment, as well as how this content is received by non-disabled audiences in a culturally bounded policy context as exemplified by the United Arab Emirates (UAE). With the help of the theoretical framework of information and communication sciences, the given study conceptualizes the work of disabled influencers as the digital mediators based on the discursive positioning, platform affordances, and reception of the audience. The data were produced through the qualitative design of semi-structured interviews with nine influencers in the UAE with disabilities and three groups of nineteen non-disabled followers that made it possible to examine: (1) influencer practices as a deliberate production of content, and not just a circulation of content; (2) how viewers received disability narratives and (3) how perceived institutional conditions contributed to the production of visibility and inclusion. The results showed that using personal narrative, didactic content (e.g., communication of accessibility by means of sign language-related content), and share of everyday experiences, influencers strategically employ these tactics to rebrand disability instead of stigma and what influencers can do with it. No differences in the ratings of message "effectiveness" among non-disabled followers were found, but the perceived efficacy would be greater with improved language accessibility and everyday-life contextualization. Respondents also related the positive results of inclusive communication with the institutional framework of the UAE, which was viewed as more facilitating valuable visibility and engagement of people. The paper brings a reception-based explanation of inclusive digital impact in the UAE through defining how platformed narrative, perceived trustworthiness, and institutional validity interrelate to influence the manner in which disability is represented and included.

Mots clés

disability; people of determination, digital mediation, social influence, reception, inclusive communication.