الـرأي العـام، اسـتطلاعات الـرأي، البنـاء الاجتماعـي، الـرأي العـام كلمـات مفتاحيـة: الرقــمي. Abstract: Qu'est-ce que l'opinion publique? Dynamiques, matérialités, conflits [French: What is Public Opinion? Dynamics, Materialities, Conflicts] revisits the true nature of the concept of public opinion, which has become a commonly used term by journalists and politicians, often referring to the aspirations, positions and expectations of a specific population group. The authors of the book - Thomas Frinault, Erik Neveu and Pierre Karila-Cohen – argue that this is not so simple, especially in a contemporary society where individualism plays a dominant role. From this perspective, the book raises several questions about the concept of public opinion: Is it still possible to talk about public opinion? Can this opinion be measured? And if so, by what tool? What transformations have affected the concept and reality of public opinion in the digital age? The main thesis of the book is that public opinion is a “social construct” and not an inherent truth. It does not exist anywhere in its “pure” and self-sufficient form; rather, it is shaped through a series of human activities. However, before arriving at this conclusion, the book undertakes a deep historical analysis of the concepts and realities of public opinion, from the time of the ancient Greeks to the present day, and how it has evolved in relation to the development of the public sphere, the spread of democracy and freedom of expression. The book also discusses in detail the issue of measuring public opinion through polling tools. While these tools have provided researchers and polling institutions with a powerful means of understanding public opinion trends, they have also raised significant scepticism, doubts and criticisms regarding their accuracy and credibility. Additionally, the book dedicates a section to studying public opinion in the age of the internet, documenting the profound changes brought about by the advent of this medium, especially with the rise of social media, in the concepts and evolution of public opinion and its measurement tools. The paper notes that the authors of the book chose to remain within the “academic safety zone”, refraining from expanding the topic into broader areas directly linking it to its societal, political and cultural context. The topic could, and in fact should, have been explored in connection with this context for a deeper understanding of public opinion in relation to the tools that shape and influence it, making it, at times, a “manufactured opinion” in the laboratories of propaganda and social psychology studies, supported by influential tools
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