The advent and meteoric rise of social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram means authenticity has recently taken on new meaning in explaining the appeal of internet celebrities, their followers and the wider pressure to self-present an authentic version of the self in digital spaces. The third webinar in the series will address these concerns by examining a range of recent trends and examples which question how the authentic can be created, communicated and profited from in creative yet often highly problematic ways.

Keynote: Crystal Abidin (Curtin University, Australia)

Panel:

Maria Heřmanová (Charles University, Czech Republic), Authenticity and taste: the role of social media influencers in the reproduction of cultural hierarchies among young Czechs

Nils Borchers (Tuebingen University, Germany) - Governing Authenticity: On Balancing Creative Freedom and Control Expectations in Influencer Communication Campaigns

Liron Simatzkin-Ohana & Paul Frosh (Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel) - User-Generated Aesthetic: The Style of Corporate Authenticity

Lucia Bainotti (University of Turin, Italy) - Conspicuous authenticity. How micro-influencers construct and display social status

Link to join webinar: TBC

*Please note earlier start time of Webinar Three accommodating the time difference between UK and keynote speaker

Event Organisation Team :

Dr Michael Skey, Senior Lecturer in Communication and Media Studies, Loughborough University, Centre for Research in Communication and Culture

Dr Thomas Thurnell-Read, Senior Lecturer in Sociology, Loughborough University, Centre for Research in Communication and Culture

Cultures of Authenticity - Webinar Three