DML 2018 IgniteAugust 1, 2018

The Rise of Monitorial Citizenship

Erhardt Graeff

Erhardt Graeff — @erhardtMIT Center for Civic Media &Olin College of Engineering

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neverseconds.blogspot.co.uk

neverseconds.blogspot.co.uk

Monitorial Citizenship is a form of civic engagement in which people collect information about their surroundings or track issues of local or personal interest in order to improve their communities and pursue justice.

dissertation: bit.ly/graeffdiss& Intl Ency of Media Literacy

Pew Research. 2017. Public Trust in Government: 1958–2017.

Do you trust the government in Washington to do the right thing all or most of the time?

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Moving average Individual polls .

1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

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PEWRESEARCHCENTER

Source: 2018 Edelman Trust Barometer. The Trust Index is an average of a market's trust in the institutionsof government, business, media and NGOs. General population, 28-market global total. 6

Average trust in institutions, general population, 2017 vs. 2018

Trust IndexA World of Distrust

Biggest changes in

47 Global72 India69 Indonesia67 China60 Singapore60 UAE 53 The Netherlands52 Mexico52 U.S.50 Colombia49 Canada48 Brazil48 Italy48 Malaysia45 Argentina44 Hong Kong44 Spain43 Turkey42 Australia42 S. Africa41 Germany40 France40 U.K.38 S. Korea37 Sweden36 Ireland35 Japan35 Poland34 Russia

U.S. -9

China +7

S. Korea +6

UAE +6

Italy -5

Trust (60-100)Neutral (50-59)Distrust (1-49)

Trust decline in the U.S. is the steepest ever measured

48 Global74 China71 Indonesia68 India66 UAE58 Singapore54 Mexico54 The Netherlands53 Malaysia49 Canada 47 Argentina47 Colombia47 Spain46 Turkey45 Hong Kong44 Brazil44 S. Korea 43 Italy43 U.S.41 Germany41 Sweden40 Australia40 France 39 Poland39 U.K.38 Ireland38 S. Africa37 Japan36 Russia

2017General Population

2018General Population

Global Trust Index remains at distruster level

20 of 28 markets are distrusters, up 1 from 2017

Contemporary youth see living in a country that is government democratically as less essential

Foa, R. & Mounk, Y. 2017. The Signs of Deconsolidation. Journal of Democracy, 28(1), 5–16.

Erhardt GraeffDML 2018 IgniteAugust 1, 2018

Monitorial Citizenship Core Practices

• collecting information• sharing stories and insights• coordinating with networks of other

civic actors• pursuing accountability for

institutions and elite individuals and their perceived responsibilities

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Example: Public Lab

Example: Promise Tracker

Examples: SeeClickFix & Deera

Example: Hollaback!

Examples: WeCopwatch and #BlackLivesMatter

The Rise of Monitorial Citizenship is…

a digital and civic literacy issue

The Rise of Monitorial Citizenship is…

an inequality and empowerment issue

Erhardt GraeffDML 2018 IgniteAugust 1, 2018

Recommendations for Educators

• teach information gathering and analysis (media/data literacy & YPAR)

• teach persuasive storytelling• teach community organizing online

and offline• teach democracy from the

perspective of citizen power

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Erhardt GraeffDML 2018 IgniteAugust 1, 2018

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@erhardterhardt@erhardtgraeff.comerhardtgraeff.com