"This study contributes to research on digital inequalities in the context of artificial intelligence by examining user perceptions of deepfake technology. We focus on the stratification of deepfake knowledge and attitudes towards deepfakes as critical elements of technology access. Based on a surve
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y of 1,421 German internet users, we analyse the role of sociodemographic variables, digital skills, and personal innovativeness in predicting deepfake knowledge. We then examine the role of deepfake knowledge in users’ assessments of risks and potentials associated with the technology. Our results point to a generally low level of knowledge and a strong focus on risks in internet users’ perceptions of deepfakes. We find that age, gender and educational attainment predict knowledge about deepfakes. Digital skills, personal innovativeness, and social media use also positively relate to deepfake knowledge. This knowledge, in turn, is shown to play a role in users’ positive attitude towards the technology. While age plays only a minor role, female gender strongly relates to low knowledge and negative attitudes towards deepfakes. We thus find evidence of a sizeable gender divide in user access to the novel deepfake technology." (Abstract)
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"The advent of online technologies has been triggering a wave of empirical examinations of online political participation (OPP) over the past twenty years. It also stimulated scholarly debate on how to conceptualize political participation in a digital age. Scholars differ on whether to consider pas
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sive and expressive online behaviors part of or a mere precursor to political participation. This study argues that due to its rapid evolution as well as its dependence on platform affordances, quantitative empirical studies on OPP may be prone to deviations between established, much-cited definitions and measurements applied in the field. Based on a systematic literature review of 289 international peerreviewed survey-based and experimental studies, we analyze both definitions and measurements of OPP. We find a series of disconnections: Measures preponderantly address online activities, yet merely a small share of definitions focuses on the online sphere. While only few definitions account for passive activities (e.g., reading news about politics), many operationalizations include measures capturing such passive behaviors. Expressive activities are most popular in measures of OPP, but definitions rarely reflect this focus. Finally, while measures of OPP are prone to be platform-specific, definitions tend to neglect this characteristic. We conclude by reflecting the conceptual implications of common measurement practices for the study of OPP." (Abstract)
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"International contributors assess a variety of key contexts that impact access to digital technologies, including contextual variations related to geography and infrastructure, as well as individual differences related to age, income, health and disability status. Chapters explore how variations em
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erge across the life course, illustrating the effects of digital disparities on personal wellbeing. Intervening in critical debates relating to the digital divide, this Handbook offers key insights into privacy and trust issues that affect technological usage." (Publisher description)
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