New publication: Australian activists as storytellers in digital spaces

A new article by collaborators Garth Stahl, Claire Maxwell, Yating Hu, Benjamin Adams, and Sarah Bergen, and lab head Miri Yemini has been published in the Australian Journal of Social Issues: “Australian Activists as Storytellers in Digital Spaces: Acquiring Skills, Producing Content and Getting the Message Out.”

Drawing on the personal narratives of 16 nascent activists based in Australia, the study examines how activists build the digital storytelling skills central to their activism, and how their identities as activists emerge through the interplay of platform affordances, skill acquisition, and the wider activist ecosystem. Three themes structure the analysis: personal narrative as political storytelling, investment in key digital storytelling skills, and the ongoing tension between storytelling and authenticity — including the ethical questions activists face in trying to stay authentic within a digital landscape often seen as superficial.