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14 - An Ecological Approach to Manipulation, Influence and Deception

from V - Discussion

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 June 2025

By
Rodney H. Jones
Edited by
Sofia Rüdiger  and
Daria Dayter
Sofia Rüdiger
Affiliation:
Universität Bayreuth, Germany
Daria Dayter
Affiliation:
Tampere University, Finland
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Summary

This chapter provides a commentary on the studies published in this volume. It identifies a range of common themes across the different chapters, including the importance of context in shaping strategies of persuasion, the role of indirectness and implicature in persuasion and manipulation, and the importance of the affective and interpersonal dimensions of persuasion. At the same time, the commentary also points out some of the limitations of traditional tools of discourse analysis for understanding how persuasion and manipulation work in the complex networked context of digital media. To address these shortcomings, an ecological approach to manipulation, influence, and deception is proposed, drawing on recent work in sociology, media studies, science and technology studies, and ‘ecological pragmatics’. Three aspects of online discourse are discussed in light of this ecological perspective, namely: inter(con)textuality, iterability, and metadiscursivity. The chapter ends with a discussion of the implications of an ecological approach to persuasion, manipulation, and deception for teaching critical literacies.

Keywords

ecological pragmaticsinter(con)textualityiterabilitymetadiscoursepost-truth

Information

Type
Chapter
Information
Manipulation, Influence and Deception
The Changing Landscape of Persuasive Language
 , pp. 297 - 312
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025

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