Lab Platform Governance, Media and Technology (PGMT)

Dr. Paloma Viejo Otero

Dr. Paloma Viejo Otero is a researcher with an interest in developing critical understanding of Platform Governance. She has been awarded by Alliance YUFE to work as postdoctoral researcher at  Prof.Dr.Christian Katzenbach’s lab “Platform Governance, Media, and Technology” at the Center for Media, Communication and Information Research (ZeMKI), University of Bremen. Her project focus on platform governance, inequality and minorities.

In 2016 Paloma obtained a DCU School of Communication Scholarship. Between October 2016 and September 2021, Paloma  was a doctoral candidate at Dublin City University. During her doctoral phase Paloma’s research on hate speech led her to work with the Council of Europe, where she co-produced the ‘Yes We Can Manual‘ for the youth Department of Council of Europe. This manual aims to produce counter-narratives to diminish, counter or neutralize the attraction and impact of hateful narratives, within the framework of the ‘No Hate Speech‘ campaign.  Paloma  defended her dissertation with the title “Governing Hate. Facebook and Hate Speech” in September 2021 (supervisor: Prof.Dr.  Eugenia Siapera, University College Dublin) in which she explored  the principles and values behind Facebook Hate Speech policies and how they determined Facebooks systems of governance.

Paloma  previously  obtained her degree from School of Communication at Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca;  an  MPhil in Race, Ethnicity and Conflict from Trinity College Dublin, and holds a MA in Culture Studies and Arts Management from the Instituto de Investigacion Ortega y Gasset in Madrid. Paloma has worked as Research Assistant at DCU Anti-Bullying Centre (2020-2022) and as external colaborator for Univesidad Oberta de Catalunya (2022). In addition, Paloma also has extensive professional experience in the public and not-for-profit sector such as; the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Sudan and Guatemala; UNESCO, Migrants Right Center Dublin; and the Peter McVerry Trust, Dublin

Research interests 

Platform governance, Hate Speech; Historical oppression, inequality, discrimination and segregation.

Memberships

Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR)

International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR)

Publications

  • Viejo Otero, P. (in production) Platform Governance and Social Justice: Governing Hate Speech on Social Media. Emerald.
  • Katzenbach, C.; Pentzold, C.,& Viejo Otero, P.; (accepted): Smoothing Out Smart Tech’s Rough Edges: Imperfect Automation and the Human Fix. In: Human-Machine Communication.
  • Viejo Otero,P., (2024) Can you be neutral vis-à-vis hate speech? The governance by digital platforms and their policies on hate speech in Europe. (under revision) Special Issue Online hate speech: a European perspective: The European Journal of Communication Research (COMM).
  • Sargioti, A. Kuldas, S, Foody, M.;Viejo Otero,P.; A. Kinahan.A ;Canning.C , Heaney. D, ; O’Higgins Norman. J (2022) Dublin Anti-Bullying Self-Efficacy Models and Scales: Development and Validation. Journal of International Violence. Approved for publication.
  • Viejo Otero, P. Sargioti, A. Kinahan.A , Canning.C , Heaney. D, O’Higgins Norman. J (2022) Implementing the FUSE Anti-Bullying and Online Safety Programme Among Post-Primary Students in Ireland: Measuring Perceived Self-Efficacy . Submitted to Journal of Educational Studies. Under Revision.
  • Viejo Otero, P. (2022). Governing hate: Facebook and hate speech (Doctoral dissertation, Dublin City University).
  • Siapera, E., & Viejo-Otero, P. (2021). Governing hate: Facebook and digital racism. Television & New Media, 22(2), 112-130.
  • Viejo Otero, Paloma (2021) How the Donald Trump years have changed Facebook. RTE. January 2021.https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2021/0119/1190648-donald-trump-mark-zuckerberg-facebook/
  • Viejo Otero, Paloma (2020) Guide to Understand Hate Speech (2020) Eskura. Ayuntamiento de SanSebastian. Basque Country. searchlibrary.ohchr.org/record/29540
  • de Latour, A., Perger, N., Salag, R., Tocchi, C., & Otero, P. V. (2017). We can!: Taking Action against Hate Speech through Counter and Alternative Narratives (revised edition). Council of Europe.
  • Titley, G., Nikunen, K., Pantti, M., Sharma, S., Siapera, E., Otero, P. V., … & Muench, F. (2017). Racisms In Digital Media Space. AoIR Selected Papers of Internet Research.
  • Viejo Otero, Paloma (2017) How Social Media impacts on online racism and Hate Speech. RTE.November 2017. www.rte.ie/eile/brainstorm/2017/1107/918190-how-social-mediaimpacts-on-online-racism-and-hate-speech/
  • Otero, P. V. (2015). How Do Far-Right Movements and Parties Use the Internet and the Social Media? Digital Facebook Postcards, With Hate, Your Far Right. 

Conferences.

  • Viejo Otero, P.; (December 2021). El Discurso del Odio en las redes sociales. Una perspectiva tecnológica. II Congreso sobre Igualdad de Trato y No Discriminación: Respuestas frente al Discurso del Odio. Biltzen. Pais Vasco.
  • Viejo Otero, P. and Milosevic, T.; (November 2021) Understanding Cyberbullying as a Security Onlineand safety issue. World Anti Bullying Forum. Stockholm.
  • Viejo Otero, P.; Siargioty, A.; (November 2021) Bullying in new teaching platform. World Anti Bullying Forum. Stockholm.
  • Siapera, E. and Viejo Otero, P.; (2021) Content Moderation and External Stakeholders: Platform Governance and the Role of Experts. First Platform Governance Conference. Online.
  • Viejo Otero, P.; (2020) Como combatir el discurso del odio en las redes sociales. ESKURA. Pais Vasco.
  • Siapera, E. and Viejo Otero, P.; (2019) Governing Hate: Facebook and the productivity of Hate Speech. IAMCR. Madrid
  • Viejo Otero, Paloma (2018) The historical materialistic definition of Hate Speech. SOAS. London
  • Viejo Otero, P.;(2018) What is Hate? a Historical Materialistic Perspective. Sociology DepartmentTrinity College. Dublin.
  • Siapera, E. and Viejo Otero, P.; (2018) Hate Speech in online environments. ICA Prague. The Czech Republic.
  • Siapera, E., Viejo-Otero, P. & Moreo, E. (2017). Hate speech: Genealogies, tensions and contentions.In Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR) conference (pp. 19–21).
  • Siapera, E. and Viejo Otero, P.; (2016). What is the Role of Social Media Corporations in RegulatingHate Speech? At AoIR Berlin. Germany.
  • Viejo Otero, P.; (2016) Hate Speech and Social Media. Corporative Hate Speech presented at ESARN18.Rethinking power in Communicative Capitalism in Lisbon, Portugal.
  • Viejo Otero, P.; (2015) Differences between Hate Speech and Cyberbullying in Social Media, presented at ABC Symposium. Dublin City University.
  • Viejo Otero, P.; (2015) How do the Far-Right Movements and Parties use the internet and Social Media? Digital Facebook Postcards: ‘with hate, your far-right’ presented at ICTs and Society Conference Austria. Vienna.