Abstract This work involves a comprehensive review of qualitative research focused on analysing the experience of social ostracism. The voices of the ostracized are essential for uncovering that subtle, small, invisible, and silent practices of social exclusion, such as not paying attention, treating someone like air, lack of interest, or being left out, are sufficiently real and painful enough for those who have to deal with them. The term “social (in)visibility” allows us to openly name feelings that are an internal response to external ostracism, but which remain unexpressed in everyday interactions. The article focuses on understanding the role of social attention and social recognition in social encounters. As the social challenges described document a set of practices that prevent engagement in social interactions and reinforce cultural otherness, the construct of “social (in)visibility” may thus provide a framework for explaining how the lack of acknowledgment of someone’s presence in an appropriate manner in a given situation initiates the process of excluding those with so-called ‘spoiled identities’ and may help reveal mechanisms of escalating negativity. The work concludes with reflections on future research areas and the practical implications of social (in)visibility within the context of social relationships, co-presence, and social encounters.

International audience

Abstract After the Covid-19 vaccination started, social media users created an enormous amount of content on the vaccines. Especially in the early stages of vaccination, people searched and watched YouTube videos sharing personal experiences after getting the vaccines (i.e., vaccine review videos), usually titled “I got the COVID-19 vaccine.” Few studies have examined the characteristics and impacts of vaccine review videos on viewers’ responses (e.g., likes, dislikes, comments). This study investigates the content of, and reactions to, the most-viewed Covid-19 vaccine review videos on YouTube, based on the social communication framework. A quantitative content analysis of 148 vaccine review videos revealed their unique characteristics, including source expertise, message valence, narration, and topics. Most of the videos had a positive tone, with some urging vaccination and showing pro-vaccine attitudes. Furthermore, source expertise and hybrid message types (messages conveyed in narrative and informative ways) were not significantly related to positive responses. Rather, non-expert videos received more positive responses. The findings concern the public opinions surrounding new vaccines, including related concerns and attitudes. Given the positive tone of the content, vaccine review content made by diverse groups can be encouraged by public health institutions regardless of the creators’ expertise.

We are delighted to kick off the new year with the latest edition of Communications: The European Journal of Communication Research. As editors of this journal since 2016, we are eager to share some insights and updates regarding the journal's progress with our valued readers. Reflecting on the events of 2023, we would like to highlight a significant milestone: the first in-person meeting of all our associate editors and the book review team at the University of Leuven in June. During this gathering, we discussed key points and made important decisions. One of the most exciting developments is the plan for our upcoming 50th-anniversary issue in 2025. This special edition aims to contribute to the rich history and future of European communication research, and we are looking forward to surprising our readers with it in the autumn of 2025. Additionally, we have devised a plan for the special issue of 2024, which will be curated by guest editors Heidi Vandebosch (University of Antwerp) and Tobias Rothmund (University of Jena). This issue will be dedicated to the topic of Online Hate Speech from a European perspective, building upon the groundwork laid in the 2023 special issue, expertly managed by Josef Trappel and Talez Tomas (both University of Salzburg), focused on Digital Platforms, Regulation, and Governance. Another notable achievement is the consolidation of the journal's title rights, a legacy that dates back to 1975 and was initially held by the German Association for Communication Research (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Kommunikationsforschung), led by the journal's first editor, Alphons Silbermann . Currently, Stefanie Averbeck-Lietz (University of Greifswald) and Christian Pentzold (University of Leipzig) are at the helm of this esteemed society, following in the footsteps of Herbert Durwen (University of Düsseldorf) and Ekkehard Mochmann (formerly GESIS, Cologne). Edwin Ferger (formerly GESIS) serves as the treasurer of the society, and you can stay updated on their activities via the forthcoming relaunch of their website (https://dgkf-communications.de/). The society actively welcomes new members, and its mission is to support the publication processes and enhance

Abstract The proliferation of online disinformation has become of major societal concern. Because of online programmatic algorithms, brands may find their ads running on disinformation websites alongside disinformation. In this experimental study (N = 617), we investigate people’s brand-related and news-related responses in this context. Results show that when an advertised brand is displayed on the same webpage as a disinformation article, brand attitude and brand trust are negatively affected; this effect is even more pronounced when the brand is thematically congruent with the disinformation article. This suggests that brands (especially congruent ones) might be contaminated by disinformation. In addition, presenting an ad alongside a disinformation article increases the credibility of the article, as well as people’s level of agreement with the article’s content. This seems to suggest that advertising can lend validity to disinformation and amplify its (harmful) effects. These results have important and timely managerial and societal implications.

Deux mythes façonnent tout ensemble la critique et la défense des musées : leur analogie avec l’arche, cet espace construit pour conserver, et leur possibilité de transmettre des informations d’une période, d’une géographie, d’une langue à l’autre. Cet essai propose une réflexion sur les contingences, humaines et non humaines, qui façonnent la naissance et la fin des collections « savantes ». Il s’appuie sur l’analyse de trois études de cas : le Musée d’histoire naturelle de Londres fondé sur la proposition de Richard Owen, les deux centres muséaux de l’État du Kentucky, destinés à prouver l’historicité du Déluge biblique, et le Musée national de Rio de Janeiro, détruit dans un incendie récent.

Abstract Just as burnout is manifested through changes in behavioural and communication patterns, it is important to examine whether certain aspects of communication can affect student burnout development. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the relationship between communication and academic burnout. To achieve this, the study proposes an integrated model examining the effects of three communication dimensions – support from academic staff, support from colleagues, and participation in decision-making – on four different dimensions of academic burnout, as well as students’ overall burnout. The model is tested using structural equation modelling (SEM) analysis. High coefficients of determination regarding particular burnout dimensions validate the strength of the proposed model. The results show that support from academic staff and support from fellow students significantly and negatively influence academic burnout, and might be instrumental in its reduction. Unexpectedly, participation in decision-making is shown to be positively related to academic burnout.

Abstract This study investigates young consumers’ reliance on social media influencers (SMIs) in the context of social commerce. With regard to the four streams of influencer endorsement – influencer credibility, influencer attractiveness, match-up, and meaning transfer – we propose that they can either lead to a direct consumer reliance on SMIs’ suggestions for their purchasing decisions, or that attitudes toward SMIs mediate the relationship. By integrating both directions of partial- and no-attitude mediation, the proposed model explores all associations in order to better understand connections and driving forces between endorsement streams, attitudes, and reliance. We introduce the concept of reliance on SMIs, understood here as the degree to which young individuals base their preferences, lifestyles, and purchasing decisions upon SMIs. A research model was validated by examining 809 young individuals. The results reveal that attitude formation is affected by all four endorsement streams, and fully mediates the relationship between these endorsement streams and young people’s reliance on SMIs. The differentiated reliance levels by gender and age confirm that females and teenagers tend to rely more on SMIs. The current study offers the first evidence for a relationship between the four endorsement streams and reliance on SMIs via attitude formation in the context of social media networking, as well as the association of reliance with sociodemographic characteristics.