The exposure of Kataryna: how Polish journalists and bloggers debatch online anonymity

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Trytko, K. and Wittel, A. ORCID: 0000-0002-4680-6670, 2017. The exposure of Kataryna: how Polish journalists and bloggers debatch online anonymity. Ephemera: Theory & Politics in Organization, 17 (2), pp. 283-305. ISSN 2052-1499

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Abstract

This article starts with the premise that anonymity is under attack and that we are experiencing the consequences of a slow but steady process of deanonymisation. While we are aware of the ambiguity of anonymity, we want to make an argument in defence of anonymous speech. The social productivity of anonymity will be demonstrated through an analysis of the doxing of Polish blogger Kataryna, whose real life identity was revealed by journalists. Her exposure in 2009 sparked one of the most heated debates in the history of the Polish internet. It triggered a controversy across several newspapers and blogging platforms. Using critical discourse analysis this study investigates how the Kataryna case was constructed, evaluated and interpreted by three traditional daily newspapers and by bloggers on two blogging platforms. The analysis reveals that the debate on online anonymity reflects three underlying conflicts: (1) conflict over the vision of the public sphere, (2) conflict over the professional identities of journalists and bloggers, and (3) conflict over the process of democratisation in Poland.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	Ephemera: Theory & Politics in Organization
Creators:	Trytko, K. and Wittel, A.
Publisher:	University of Leicester
Date:	31 May 2017
Volume:	17
Number:	2
ISSN:	2052-1499
Divisions:	Schools > School of Arts and Humanities
Record created by:	Linda Sullivan
Date Added:	14 Nov 2017 16:33
Last Modified:	14 Nov 2017 16:33
Related URLs:	Publisher
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/32021