Political Internet Memes (PIMs) and Information: a multimethod approach

The research is aimed at understanding information contained in PIMs and how users learn from them. One of the main problems in Internet Meme (IM) research is the lack of systematic tools and frameworks that researchers can use to analyse IMs. To address this gap in the literature, this PhD proposes to create a tool (Meta-Meme) for analysis that combines statistical techniques with machine learning. Meta-Meme helps researchers establish a conventional way to start the analysis based on aggregate IM data.

The project offers a systematic account of PIMs as a political psychology phenomenon and experimentally measures informational power. By understanding how PIMs transmit information, this research raises awareness of the hidden influence of PIMs on digital democracy.

The literature on tools for the analysis of memes is increasing (for an overview see Beskow et al., 2020) suggesting that a fully automated analysis of IMs can be performed. Different machine learning techniques have been employed, on different types of memes and media formats (Vlad et al., 2020). There is yet to emerge a tool for the analysis of internet memes that reflects the needs of different researchers. This PhD focuses on PIMs as it has been suggested in the literature (Moody-Ramirez & Church, 2019) that this specific type of IM impacts online political discourse and digital politics. For example, according to Heiskanen (2017) PIMs have the ability to engage voters who wouldn't normally participate in the electoral process.

Defining PIMs itself has been difficult, there is no commonly agreed scholarly definition. This PhD conceptualises PIMs as simply IMs that are political in nature or contain a political message. It is also important to assess how individual differences (ID) might influence user-level PIM engagement and information processing. Survey research has been employed in a few papers to analyse PIMs and users (Klein, 2019; Huntington, 2020). This PhD follows this strand of research and aims at addressing the informational potential of PIMs (McLoughlin & Southern, 2020).

The research requires two stages. Stage A creates a tool (Meta-Meme) for researchers to perform systematic IMs analysis based on Content-Context-Structure of IMs. To demonstrate and validate the tool the PhD will reproduce published analyses of PIMs during political events. Meta-Meme needs to be able to recognise memes, then analyse and produce a summary output at the request of researchers. This will allow us to understand the information present in PIMs. The tool will also serve as a database and clustering of PIMs for stage B.

Stage B uses survey research to assess the extent to which PIMs can transfer their information to users. Using correlational and experimental panel studies will allow us to establish whether and how PIMs can inform users through their content. Firstly, it establishes which political psychology frameworks and factors might relate to PIM engagement. Secondly, it assesses with a panel study whether users learn information from PIMs, which types and quantity of PIMs are more effective at informing users.

We will collaborate with over 40 partners drawn from across FMCG and Food; Creative Industries; Health and Wellbeing; Smart Mobility; Finance; Enabling technologies; and Policy, Law and Society. These will benefit from engagement with our CDT through the following established mechanisms:

- Training multi-disciplinary leaders. Our partners will benefit from being able to recruit highly skilled individuals who are able to work across technologies, methods and sectors and in multi-disciplinary teams. We will deliver at least 65 skilled PhD graduates into the Digital Economy.

- Internships. Each Horizon student undertakes at least one industry internship or exchange at an external partner. These internships have a benefit to the student in developing their appreciation of the relevance of their PhD to the external societal and industrial context, and have a benefit to the external partner through engagement with our students and their multidisciplinary skill sets combined with an ability to help innovate new ideas and approaches with minimal long-term risk. Internships are a compulsory part of our programme, taking place in the summer of the first year. We will deliver at least 65 internships with partners.

- Industry-led challenge projects. Each student participates in an industry-led group project in their second year. Our partners benefit from being able to commission focused research projects to help them answer a challenge that they could not normally fund from their core resources. We will deliver at least 15 such projects (3 a year) throughout the lifetime of the CDT.

- Industry-relevant PhD projects. Each student delivers a PhD thesis project in collaboration with at least one external partner who benefits from being able to engage in longer-term and deeper research that they would not normally be able to undertake, especially for those who do not have their own dedicated R&D labs. We will deliver at least 65 such PhDs over the lifetime of this CDT renewal.

- Public engagement. All students receive training in public engagement and learn to communicate their findings through press releases, media coverage.

This proposal introduces two new impact channels in order to further the impact of our students' work and help widen our network of partners.

- The Horizon Impact Fund. Final year students can apply for support to undertake short impact projects. This benefits industry partners, public and third sector partners, academic partners and the wider public benefit from targeted activities that deepen the impact of individual students' PhD work. This will support activities such as developing plans for spin-outs and commercialization; establishing an IP position; preparing and documenting open-source software or datasets; and developing tourable public experiences.

- ORBIT as an impact partner for RRI. Students will embed findings and methods for Responsible Research Innovation into the national training programme that is delivered by ORBIT, the Observatory for Responsible Research and Innovation in ICT (www.orbit-rri.org). Through our direct partnership with ORBIT all Horizon CDT students will be encouraged to write up their experience of RRI as contributions to ORBIT so as to ensure that their PhD research will not only gain visibility but also inform future RRI training and education. PhD projects that are predominantly in the area of RRI are expected to contribute to new training modules, online tools or other ORBIT services.