Disinformation, Propaganda, and AI: How Content Assemblages Arrest Meaning and Alter the Realm of Signification Jordan Cagle * Project Mentor(s): Dan Martin, PhD This presentation examines how digital content assemblages reshape the signification of political dissent in contemporary media ecosystems. Focusing on a case study surrounding ICE protests in Minneapolis, it analyzes how interconnected artifacts such as AI-generated images, political social media posts, mainstream news coverage, alternative online political media (AOPM), podcasts, and user comment sections work together to construct and stabilize ideological narratives. Drawing on theories of intertextuality and Lacanian signification, the project argues that these assemblages do not operate as isolated texts but as mutually reinforcing networks that circulate authority and authenticity across platforms. The analysis demonstrates how AI-generated and manipulated content functions as a rhetorical tool to distort perception, while mainstream and alternative media amplify and legitimize partisan framing. These assemblages rely on recognizable genre conventions, particularly within right- wing media ecosystems, to frame political protesters as irrational or dangerous. Comment sections further stabilize these meanings. Ultimately, the presentation argues that such assemblages arrest meaning within a fluid field of signification or meaning, equating dissent with instability or illegitimacy. This process serves broader political and economic interests by undermining civil disobedience and criticism of state power. By mapping these dynamics, the project highlights the growing role of AI and digital media infrastructures in shaping public discourse and political reality. Manastash Volume 36 Contributor Reading Jordan Cagle*, Mady Eason, Josie Price, Rachel Riffel*, Brenda Juarez Pina, Jordan Sheeres, Alyanna Ayala, Kaitlyn Collins*, Devon Hulteen, Hannah Jamieson, Kirsten Rohla*, Savannah Cottingham*, Cindy Sage, Ariel Lee, Alyssa Belknap, Devyn Rainwater, Lomasi Marshall* Project Mentor(s): Candace Walsh, PhD Manastash is CWU English department's annual student-run literary journal, founded in 1990. Each May, its editors publish a new issue featuring CWU students’ literary and visual work. The theme for this issue is Rebirth, which contributors interpreted in dazzlingly diverse ways. At this hybrid launch party in SURC137A/B, journal contributors will read their poems, short stories, and essays, in person and via Zoom; the journal, hot off the presses, will be available to all who attend. This year's managing editor, graduate student Jordan Cagle, will emcee. Special thanks to poetry editor Jeanee O'mara, creative nonfiction editors Savannah Cottingham and Chelan Sweeney, fiction editors Maelim Lunaris and Alyssa Belknap, and the biggest thanks of all goes to the faculty advisor Dr. Candace Walsh. Presentation Type: Oral Presentation (May 20, 9:30am–5:00pm) Keywords: Disinformation, Propaganda, AI, Assemblage, Signification SOURCE Form ID: 47
Presentation Type: Special Session (May 20, 2:00pm–3:00pm) Keywords: Literary Art, Poetry, Prose, Visual Art, Fiction SOURCE Form ID: 184
25
Made with FlippingBook interactive PDF creator