Nordic/VUIAS Conversation: “How Do Big Tech Platforms Influence the Dynamics of Societal Conflict? The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly”

In today’s digital age, Big Tech platforms play a significant role in society, from politics to activism and even humanitarian crises and wars. Platforms like Facebook, X, and TikTok spread both useful information and harmful misinformation at an unprecedented scale, influencing societal conflicts in profound ways. Social media played a role in the amplification of hate speech during the Rohingya crisis, and in coordinating the January 6 US Capitol riot. At the same time, these platforms were used by social justice movements like #FridaysForFuture, #MeToo, and #BlackLivesMatter, as well as for disseminating public health information during COVID-19. This dual impact – both positive and negative – makes Big Tech’s role in society a critical issue.

Drawing from their interdisciplinary expertise, our panelists will focus on: political polarization and elections, where social media influences narratives and disinformation spreads; climate activism, where digital platforms help mobilise but also produce algorithmic suppression; and mental health and social wellbeing, where digital technologies could be used both to heighten anxiety and catastrophic thinking, and as a means for psychosocial support in humanitarian crises. Another important dimension cutting across these issues is the rise of large digital platforms controlled by geopolitical competitors outside the West, producing new tensions and challenges.

Key questions for debate include:

• How can the negative effects of Big Tech be mitigated? Is regulation enough, or do we also need stronger online practices by users and societal actors?

• Are alternative platforms such as Bluesky and Discord emerging as credible competitors to established players such as Meta or X? Do they offer a safer online environment and better protections from harmful speech?

• What are the geopolitical implications and risks of Big Tech’s increasingly contested legitimacy?

By bringing together perspectives from media and communication, organisational studies, anthropology and psychology, panelists will throw some light on these crucial issues.