abstract
This article uses the theory of affective news to examine social media live streaming during the 2019 Hong Kong Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill Movement. We argue that this specific form of affective news was enabled by the affordances of the Facebook Live platform, collectively produced by journalists who were not bound by conventional detached practices and audiences who actively engaged in emotional reactions and discussions, and offering an immersive, unpredictable, sensational, and dramatic experience of collective witnessing through the unique content and format. This case enriches our understanding of the emotional turn of journalism and provides implications for digital journalism and social movements.
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The authors report no potential conflicts of interest.
Funding
The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Kecheng Fang
Kecheng Fang is an assistant professor in the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s School of Journalism and Communication. His research interests include journalism, political communication, and digital media. Before joining academia, he worked as a political journalist at the Chinese newspaper Southern Weekly.
Calvin Yixiang Cheng
Calvin Yixiang Cheng is a DPhil student at the Oxford Internet Institute. His current research focuses on leveraging computational methods, particularly natural language processing, to address detection and diffusion issues of conspiracy theories on social media.