VIRTUAL PUBLIC SPHERE: DEBATE AND MODERATION WITHIN

THE MEXICAN ASSOCIATION OF VICTORIA FACEBOOK GROUP.

A Thesis presented by

RODRIGO SANCHEZ JUAREZ

In partial fulfilment of the requirements of

MASTER OF ARTS

In the field of

GLOBAL MEDIA COMMUNICATION

In the

SCHOOL OF CULTURE AND COMMUNICATION

Supervisor: DR. SCOTT WRIGHT

May 2016

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Abstract

Although recent evidence suggests that Facebook is becoming a new sort of public sphere, the nature of debate is still configured by the action of moderators and the Facebook policies. In that sense, this thesis explores on the case study of the Mexican Association of Victoria (MexVic) in order to find out how the series of rules on group’s moderation and the Facebook policies configure the nature of debate within those platforms.

A pesar de que evidencia reciente sugiere que Facebook se está convirtiendo en una suerte de nueva esfera pública, la naturaleza del debate dentro de dicha plataforma es configurada por la acción de los moderadores de grupos y las políticas de Facebook. En ese sentido, esta tesis explora en el caso de estudio de la Asociación Mexicana de Victoria (MexVic por sus iniciales en inglés) con el propósito de encontrar cómo una serie de reglas sobre moderación y las políticas de Facebook configuran la naturaleza del debate en la plataforma.

Key words: Public sphere, Internet, Mexico, Australia, online debate, moderation. Facebook, Facebook terms and conditions.

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Acknowledgements

Writing and developing this thesis project would have not been possible without the support and encouragement of

My parents Martha and Gerardo. I really appreciate all of the love you have given me since my early childhood. I could have never dared to do this without you.

My grandparents and close family for trusting me and encouraging me to endeavour this Aussie adventure. No one said living in the Down Under is easy.

The Consejo Nacional para la Ciencia y la Tecnología (CONACYT) which is the funding institution of my studies overseas. Thank you for the trust and support you have put on me during these two years.

The University of Melbourne for providing me with knowledge and tools for facing the professional life in a cross disciplinary way.

The people who accepted to be interviewed for this research. Your help and answers helped to build the knowledge of this work.

The Metropolitan Autonomous University (UAM by its initials in Spanish) for being my Alma Mater and for supporting me to apply for a master program overseas.

My supervisor Dr. Scott Wright for engaging in a professional way with the project. Thank you.

Dr. Mario Rufer, Dr. Yissel Arce and Associate Professor Diego Vargas for teaching me the most valuable tools a social researcher could ever have.

To my friends in Mexico and Australia for being there whenever I have needed you. Guys, you are a legend!

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Chapter I

Introduction

In July 2014, I found myself in the airport of Mexico City about to

endeavour one of the most important journeys on my academic career

and my personal life. Coming to Australia has not only being an

exciting journey full of positive things but also a challenge for me to

adapt and assimilate into a new cultural and social environment.

When I first arrived to Melbourne I realised that, although I had a

proper level of English to communicate with the residents of the city, I

personally needed the support of like-minded people in order for me to

feel more comfortable and safe in this new and “unknown” place.

Thereby, I went to Facebook in order to look for the Mexican

community in Melbourne and, what I found, unleashed a genuine

curiosity on how online Spanish speaking communities interact among

each other in a country where the so called “Mexican lifestyle” and the

“Mexican values” are geographically and sentimentally far.

The Mexican Association of Victoria (MexVic) is a Melbourne based

association which aims to gather the Mexican community in order to

organise activities that promote the wellbeing of the Mexico born

residents in the state of Victoria. MexVic has been responsible of the

organisation and promotion of events such as the annual Mexican

festival in Melbourne´s Federation square and the annual discussion on

the diplomatic relations between Australia and Mexico. The

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organisation uses social media platforms (Facebook and Twitter) as well

as a webpage to promote their labour.

This thesis explores how moderation practices and website terms and

conditions impact the nature of political debate focusing on The

Mexican Association of Victoria Facebook group. The main argument is

that although online moderated spaces are likely to trigger discussions,

the debate is shaped by the Facebook policies and the internal decisions

of moderators. In contrast with most of research on this topic, the

proposed methodology encompasses the contributions of the semi

structured interview, the virtual ethnography and the key debates on the

public sphere.

This research objective is to understand the extent to which Facebook

policies and the moderation shape the way in which social media

functions in converged spaces. Aiming to provide an example on those

theoretical discussions, the thesis analyses the case study of the Mexican

Association of Victoria Facebook group and the perception on

moderation coming from selected participants belonging to that online

community.

The questions that guide this work cover two key debates on the study

of online behavioural patterns: the first one of them refers to the impact

of Facebook terms and conditions on the nature of debates and the

second one interrogates how the moderation shape discussions within

online spaces.

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In order to explore the characteristics and the issues of moderation, the

methodology to follow was decided to be interview and ethnography

based as these methodologies are not only powerful research tools but

are also methods which allows researchers to understand the everyday

social habitus and contributes to position quantitative information

within broader sociocultural contexts (López Estrada, 2011).

This research report is divided in four chapters. While the first one of

them corresponds to this introduction, the second one approaches the

concept of public sphere and its implications as a theoretical model.

Therefore, the questions that trigger that chapter pretend to address the

extent to which a conjuncture of internal policies- in Facebook as a

networked website- and the group policies-which are determined by

group administrators- impact on the way discussions are shaped and

performed within the groups.

The third chapter provides a detailed account on the methodological

decisions for this research work. Hence, the section digs in the

challenges of studying social media as a research category. Following

the aforementioned discussions, the fourth section intends to connect the

theoretical debates on public sphere, moderation and website terms and

conditions with the results of the interviews and the online

ethnographies.

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Research on online interaction is a well-nourished academic topic which

constantly evolves given the rapid technological and social changes

around the internet. While some researchers argue that the internet and -

specifically- social media are spaces which offer a potential opportunity

for the development of new public spheres (Papacharissi, 2012), some

others differ and think that internet is undermining political participation

and civic engagement (Oates, 2006) .Newer scholarly work has moved

from this polarising approach in order to investigate how political talk

emerges in everyday, online, lifestyle and communities (Wright, 2014)

This thesis is an opportunity to move from the traditional research on

the online public spheres in order to better comprehend the challenge of

new communication technologies and their impact on everyday life.

Furthermore, doing research on virtual public spheres has enhanced the

understanding on the links between the methodologies on the public

sphere and the contributions of the semi structured interview results.

This research could lead to further study on the social uses of

technology in contemporary world and the correlation between

moderation, policies and the experience of users.

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Chapter II

Literature review

In this chapter, a discussion on the concept of the public sphere is offered in

order to contextualize and better approach the case study of this thesis. The

importance of this essential core resides on the relevance this idea has acquired

to grasp the relationship between media, politics and democracy (Bondebjerg,

2008). On the other hand, this section also engages on the impact of new media

technologies reshaping the public sphere and the influence of moderation within

new media communicational platforms

The public sphere

Jürgen Habermas defines the public sphere as a historic idea that evokes to the

trinity conformed by the state, the citizens and the media; and hence refers to an

abstract space where specifically selected issues are discussed and deliberated

by a set of privileged citizens (Habermas, 1991). The public sphere is described

to be as an evolving process which has led to the development of a “heavily

mediatised public sphere where the mass media plays a prime role as the guard

of the public interest” (Bruns, 2016) (Deane, 2005).Therefore, it was not until

the rise of mass media communication when scholars started talking about the

media and its top-down model as important influencers of the political

ordinariness within the sphere. (Habermas, 1991).

Since the origins of mass media technologies, the role of mass media shaping

the public opinion has been questioned from various perspectives and there is

still no theoretical agreement on its concrete social and political functions.

Whereas Habermas thinks that the mass media is the perfect place for public

deliberation as it opens the elitist debate to larger audiences, sociological

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perspectives believe that the mass media form crowds and dissipated masses

instead of publics (Tarde, 1969). No better example of that approach than the

American theory leaded by John Dewey and Walter Lipmann -among others-

arguing that mass media communication neither forms publics neither creates

crowds as the audiences are supposedly manipulated “couch potatoes” by the

media contents (Lippmann, 1921) (Dewey, 2011)

Although the concept of public sphere caused a major commotion within

Academia due to its important contribution to the understanding of the complex

relationship between the media and the politics, there is still some sort of

scepticism regarding its theoretical sustainability. While it is argued by

Habermas and his followers that the public sphere leads to the real development

of the public (Arendt, 1998 ); critics to this idea believe that the public sphere

is “an explicitly idealistic concept” (Moosa, et al., 2013) and therefore an

illusion.

Habermas points out that one of the key elements that compound the public

sphere occurs within the space of the mass media (Habermas, 1991) . For him,

the media plays the role of a communication system which contributes to the

rise of citizens as part of the political debate. When interrogated on his opinion

on internet, Habermas requestioned his own approaches on that concept and

suggested that the internet cannot be considered yet as the utopian democratized

space due to the globally discussed digital divide and the still restricted access

to internet in many places around the globe (Karakaya Polat, 2005).

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As well as the invention of radio and television set new dilemmas for the study

of the relation between communication and politics, the rise of internet has

spawn a series of debates on its use and social role. While the debate is still

alive among researchers, it is extensively argued that the interactive nature of

the networked spaces makes of these platforms a place for the political debate.

Although the focus of this research is not to engage on a discussion on whether

social media is should be considered as a new public sphere or not, the

interdisciplinary approach of this research makes necessary to explore the new

implications of social media on the evolving idea of the public sphere.

In that sense, one of the questions that disquiet the most to social sciences

thinkers is related to the idea of the public sphere and the correlation among

that concept and the new forms of democratic deliberation. It was previously

acknowledged that the development of the deliberative Democracy is part of a

utopic realisation of the public sphere; nonetheless the raising of new media

technologies poses new intrigues with regard to the usefulness of the public

sphere concept for understanding the challenge of political debates within social

media spaces.

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The social media dilemma: Deliberative democracy and Public Sphere in

contemporary contexts

In October of 1972 a thousand guests to the International Conference on

Computers and Communities witnessed the first demonstration of ARPANET,

a project conducted by the United States Department of Defence which had as a

main goal the establishment of a connected network of computers. Since then

the development of internet has not stopped and, in contemporary era, the use

of internet has become indispensable for various sectors of the civil society, the

government and the education among others (Marson, 1991).

Stephen Marson acknowledges that since the boom of internet as a

communication platform there have been several issues linked to its interactive

nature. From the constant fears of governments to be spied to the constant

anxiety regarding its legislation, internet has always been subject to the public

scrutiny and the constant controversy (Marson, 1991). Remarkable examples of

how the interactive features of internet have, at least, tried to be controlled can

be found in 2011 Egyptian uprising1 and the recent attempts of China on putting

barriers to the access of big internet corporations to the country.

It is argued that due to the historical development of the internet the nature of

social interaction has been changing and, part of those changes, are intrinsically

linked with the uprising of social media as one of the most important mass

media settings around the world. In accordance with Marko Skoric, social

media provides users a unique experience of interaction by “connecting users

with friends allowing the organisation of face-to- face social activities” (Skorik,

1 As Alok Chouadry explains, the importance of the Egyptian “Twitter Revolution” lies in the watershed it represented for contemporary democracies. Contrary to other social movements, the Egyptian Twitter revolution shown the world “how social media can articulate a space for political discussion and, therefore, for social change”. (Choudhari, et al., 2012)

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et al., 2012). On the other hand, some other authors argue that the experience of

connectivity does not only allow the widespread of social relationships but also

“the creation of new sorts of infrastructures that enable civic and political life in

contemporary societies” (Skorik, et al., 2012)

A recent study conducted by the University of Ontario2 clarifies that nowadays

it is impossible to call the internet as the non-porous public sphere due to the

diversity of opinions and ways of thinking encapsulated within internet forums

embodies more apathy than active participation (Burkell & Fortier, 2013);

nonetheless some other accounts find in the divergent opinions and the apathy a

new turn that needs to be carefully analysed as part of the complex interactive

space of the internet. (Eliasoph, 1998)

The debate with relation to the role of new media and the civil engagement

occupies an important place in the field of contemporary research. While some

thinkers argue that the space of internet neither constitutes itself a new sort of

public sphere nor a democratic enhancement of the sphere (Eliasoph, 1998) ,

some other have the firm belief on social media spaces as new development

spaces for the democratic discussion and deliberation (Bennett & Segerberg,

2013). In spite that the empiric evidence suggests that internet forums have

enabled the emergence of numerous social movements around the world,

perhaps thee important question is to understand the role of media technologies

in specific contexts instead of centring on extensively debating whether social

media is a new public sphere or not.

2 Most of the respondents of a discussion group feel safe sharing information in the space of social media and have changed their regular perception of what they consider public and private. The issues of privacy might be considered as one of the variants why people decide not to engage on political discussions within the social media spaces. (Burkell & Fortier, 2013)

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Although online spaces offer the possibility to spread a wide range of ideas that

supposedly enable the emergence of political debates, there is still a research

gap with regard to the role of internet as a place for the development of political

discussions. In that sense, the theoretical idea of deliberative democracy

functions as a useful research category to understand the nature of discussions

within social media spaces.

Seyla Benhabib argues that the recent social emancipations through social

media can be understood from the point of view of deliberative democracy. One

of the reasons why Benhabib uses that approach resides in the fact that whereas

the traditional idea of the public sphere embodies itself a notion of exclusion

where the civil society is represented by a group of elite members, the concept

of deliberative democracy points out to the development of equal opportunities

in which the civil society has the chance of contributing to the debate in a

bigger diversity of ways. (Benhabib, 1994)

The emblematic author on public sphere topic, John Dryzek, defines the

deliberative democracy as “the ability or opportunity to participate in effective

deliberation on the part of those subjects to collective decisions” (Benhabib,

1994). On the other hand Kyung Han You argues that the democratic

deliberation emphasizes a “respectful debate even in the face of disagreement

[…] Conflicts of opinion among persons who engage in deliberation may occur

yet deliberation implies the need to respectfully consider the opinion of other

people” (Kyung, et al., 2015)

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The malleability of internet has contributed to the progressive development of

online spaces as this new communication platforms can be shaped to support

various forms of social interaction. According to Lincoln Dahlberg, one of the

powerful reasons why internet has become of great interest for deliberative

democrats lies in the new nature of online politics towards pluralist interest

groups of competitions and individualist participation (Dahlberg,

2001).Furthermore, the connection among politics and democratic participation

makes of internet a space where opinions and ideas converge to “enhance

contemporary Democracy” (Dahlberg, 2001).

Whereas Dahlberg and Segerberg believe that internet is that final realisation of

the public, the power relations involved within social media debates have be

taken into account as analytic categories. As Graham and Wright argue,

although online forums may serve as a pivot for political action; moderation

and website terms and conditions are determinant to configure the nature of

online conversation. (Wright, 2014)

The analysis of behavioural patterns within Facebook groups cannot be isolated

from the elements that configure the manner in which the social media debates

are carried out within online spaces. One of the main hypotheses of this

research points out that Facebook policies play an important role determining

the way in which discussions are articulated within groups; therefore

moderators and moderation also play a key role when it comes to analysing the

way in which certain topics are approached in online spaces. In that sense, the

next section of the chapter explores on the website terms and conditions and the

impact of moderation in online spaces as it forms part of the theoretical

discussion related to this thesis work.

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Social media as a moderated space: Facebook policies and the impact of

mediation in online spaces.

It is not surprising that Facebook is crowned as the most important social media

platform in the world. According to the Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, the

company recorded 1.3 billion active users around the globe and apparently it

will continue to be a dominant player on the social media game (Hodis, et al.,

2015). At the time Facebook grows as a communication platform, the issues

surrounding its use and regulations are becoming increasingly concerning for

governments and companies.

In accordance to a recent study on the topic of Facebook and democracy,

Facebook neither is a new sort of public sphere nor is a public space due to this

platform constituted a corporatized space subject to businesses models of

monetization and economic interest motivation. (Marichal, 2012) Therefore, the

internal policies of Facebook, as well as its regional interest as a company,

configure the way this platform can be used and the role it plays in society.

Facebook clarifies in its statement of rights and responsibilities that the

registered users on the platform are subject to follow a series of established

specific terms and conditions. Among the many Facebook rules for ensuring the

good cohabitation between the users, some of them refer to privacy issues and

some others to the interactive behaviour. In order to schematise and analyse the

impact of these rules on social interaction, the next table presents information

on how Facebook policies impact on the sort of contents which can be shared

within that webpage. The intention of this graphic is to make an accurate draw

on Facebook terms and conditions and its role as configurators of the

interactions in the online space of Facebook.

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Tab.1 Analysis on Facebook terms and conditions.3

Policy Category Analysis

When you publish content or information using the Public setting, it means that you are allowing everyone, including people off of Facebook, to access and use that information, and to associate it with you (i.e., your name and profile picture)

Privacy Although this policy

could be either classified

as part of the privacy

issues or behavioural

issues; the fact that this

policy directly addresses

the consequences of

making a post “public”.

Facebook as a company

clarifies that they do not

take any responsibility if

information posted

under the public feature

is misused by any entity.

You will not post unauthorized commercial communications (such as

Privacy This policy, surrounded

by controversy given its

3 Please note that as the Facebook terms and conditions are directly quoted from the Facebook website, some words and expressions are written in American English.

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spam) on Facebook. ambiguity, clarifies that

any unauthorised

commercial post (spam)

would be deleted;

however the company

never states the way in

which they would

proceed in case spam is

founded within

timelines or community

groups.

You will not provide any false personal information on Facebook, or create an account for anyone other than yourself without permission.

Account Security Following a series of

controversial policies;

this clause has been

extremely criticised due

to its lack of specificity

clarifying the standards

for people´s names and

identities. On the other

hand, it is not stated the

moment in which

Facebook could

deactivate an account

based on identity

criteria.

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You will not post content

that: is hate speech,

threatening or

pornographic; incites

violence; or contains

nudity or graphic or

gratuitous violence.

User´s rights and

responsibilities.

In the grounds of

morality and “good

behaviour”; this policy

specifically refers to the

sort of contents that

should not be shared

within Facebook in

order to avoid other

people´s disturbance.

This policy also frames

the sort of contents

people are entitled to

post in Facebook.

If you select a username

or similar identifier for

your account or Page, we

reserve the right to

remove or reclaim it if

we believe it is

appropriate (such as

when a trademark owner

complains about a

username that does not

closely relate to a user's

actual name).

User´s rights and

responsibilities.

Although it was already

clarified that Facebook

is totally entitled to

delete accounts they do

not agree with. On the

other hand, companies

and advertisers seem to

be protected under the

copyright scheme

promoted by the social

media giant.

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You will not tag users or

send email invitations to

non-users without their

consent. Facebook offers

social reporting tools to

enable users to provide

feedback about tagging.

User´s rights and

responsibilities.

In order to provide the

people with a sense of

security; this policy

entitles the users with

the power of reporting

any situation they can be

uncomfortable with. On

the other hand, this

condition is necessary to

assure Facebook

complaints with

minimum criteria of user

´s protection.

People use Facebook to

share their experiences

and to raise awareness

about issues that are

important to them. This

means that you may

encounter opinions that

are different from yours,

which we believe can

lead to important

conversations about

difficult topics. To help

balance the needs, safety,

and interests of a diverse

User´s rights and

responsibilities.

This section of the

Terms and Conditions

agreement clarifies the

stance of Facebook with

regard to the nature of

discussions and how to

deal with the difference

of opinions. Although

Facebook implies that

the difference of

opinions might affect

the way people interact

with each other, the

company reserves the

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community, however, we

may remove certain

kinds of sensitive content

or limit the audience that

sees it.

right of deleting or

censoring comments

without any sort of

previous explanation or

advice.

We remove content,

disable accounts, and

work with law

enforcement when we

believe there is a genuine

risk of physical harm or

direct threats to public

safety.

Account Security This point clarifies the

sort of measures

Facebook would take in

case someone violates

the norms of conduct

and behaviour within the

platform. Law

enforcement is

suggested in case the

company considers it as

necessary.

Whereas extensive scholarly work has been done in regards to the impact of

Facebook policies on everyday activities such as entertainment and

procrastination (Wiese, et al., 2014); few is the work which has been dedicated

to understand the extent to which these policies affect discussions within spaces

such as groups and fan pages. In that sense, Lance Bennett and Alexandra

Segerberg argue that when it comes to social media analysis, the core is not to

understand the functioning nature of the social media platforms but more how,

whom and with what sort of control and conflict within organization and

broader user communities (Bennett & Segerberg, 2013).

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In spite that moderation rules vary in each one of the groups existing on

Facebook, the combination among contextual situations and the Facebook

policies generates different ways in which the groups are controlled or

scrutinized. From the communities where political conversation is not allowed

in order to assure a better interaction among the members to the ones where

politics are the main topic; all of the publications and comments are subject to

Facebook terms and conditions sometimes regardless of the decisions of the

moderators.

Scott Wright believes that there is not a single role of the moderator as every

platform adapts itself to a certain code of rules to “maintain a minimum level of

respect, civility and goodwill” (Wright, 2015).In accordance with the

experience of a Livewire4 online moderator, one of the biggest challenges of

maintaining the respect within an online community resides on the diversity of

opinions and the risk of biasing the moderation within online spaces (Until,

2013 )

A recently published guide by the Australian Broadcasting Company (ABC)

states that the role of moderator is not only to control what the people post in

online spaces but to protect the reputation of the group or company the

moderator is representing. Some of the most common criteria the moderators

use when working in online communities are related to the editorial guidelines

of the group, the conditions of the platform´s use and the internal policies of

some companies and associations (Australian Broadcasting Company , 2014).

4 This study on Livewire moderation was conducted by the University of Western Sydney and the Young and Well Research Centre and it draws on the impact of moderation on an online forum. The research focuses on how Livewire can function as an online communicational platform amongst disabled people in New South Wales, Australia.

21

According with Sandra Moye, current president and one of the moderators of

the Mexican Association Facebook group; the biggest challenge of moderating

an online space such as the one she controls, is linked to the enormous diversity

of opinions within those spaces. As the same Moye acknowledges, “the most

difficult part of moderating a group such as the Mexican Association of

Victoria resides on the diversity of individual opinions spread across the

platform” (Moye, 2016)

It was previously mentioned that, in order to maintain the internal order inside

Facebook communities; spaces such as groups and fan pages need to be aligned

to Facebook internal policies so they can survive within the online platform.

According with Victorian Schools of Australia, the role and responsibilities of

the moderator include a wide range of areas that have to be with editorial

decisions and the safeguard of companies or organizations (Hazel Glen College,

2014).

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Chapter III

Methodology

This chapter explains the methodological decisions and provides a detailed

account on the analytical research corpus. As collecting data on the perception

and personal experiences of the participants was necessary to explore the topic,

the use of semi structured interviews and virtual ethnographies was necessary

for assuring a deep approach to the case study.

The semi structured interview as a source

Quantitative methodologies offer the possibility of exploring how many people

are involved in social media pages and the way they engage with certain posts.

However few of those methodologies have the possibility of digging inside the

perception and sensations of participants. In that sense, the semi structured

interviews provides insightful information on how certain groups of people

conceive and assign meaning to the social realities surrounding them.

Anthropology is considered to be a social discipline of human behavioural

studies, so much so that one of its most relevant methodologies, the interview,

is one of the main data collection methodologies for analysing social meanings.

As Clifford Geertz acknowledges, the social significations are not as observable

as animal behaviours and researchers have to recognise them through their own

logic although it is impossible to get rid of the ethnocentric and sociocentric

perspective on knowledge (Geertz 1970, p.29).

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According with the Argentinian anthropologist Rosana Guber, the interview

encompasses relevant information with regard to who are the actors involved

within a social phenomenon, how are the places they are acting in as well as the

internal subdivisions of their social circles. Thereby, the interview gathers

information on experience-based knowledge which gives account on the way

people conceive, live and attribute meaning to the universe of significations

surrounding them (Guber 2003, p.220).

One concern for academics researching internet spaces is whether participants

are aware, and consent, to their posts being collected and analysed for research.

(Griggs 2008, p.4). Deciding how to collect data is, thus, one of the biggest

methodological conundrums for this project. The use of interviews is one way

of address these concerns because informed consent is given beforehand.

Interviews allowed in-depth exploration on the perception of some of the key

participants and their perceptions on how both moderation and terms and

conditions impact the interaction on the Facebook group.

The interview provides researchers with information that does not only give

account on the deepness of the phenomenon of moderation but also serves as a

tool for digging in the opinion of interviewees and how their experience within

those groups is being built. One of the advantages of using the interview as a

source is that people are able to express their views without the relative

pressure of the surveys and census.

Selecting the participants consisted on an exercise of identifying the series of

people directly involved in these Facebook groups. As the target of the Mexican

Association of Victoria includes the Mexican migrants coming to Melbourne

and its surrounding areas, the diversity of opinions within that space made of

the selection task something methodologically challenging. In that sense, the

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interviewees were selected on their attitudes and behaviours with regard of this

group. Whereas some of the interviewees are active participants on discussions,

some others are disengaged and the reasons why they do not involved in the

debates are relevant for this research. The table below illustrates the selection

criteria in which interviewees were selected

Tab.2 Interviewees and their affiliation to the Facebook Group.5

Name of participant

Affiliation with the Facebook group

Continues to be member of

the group?

Reason why the

interviewee was selected

Sandra Moye President of the Mexican Association of Victoria

Yes As Sandra is the president of the association and moderator of the group, her approach was relevant for the research topic.

Carlos Paz Member of MexVic Facebook Group

Yes Carlos is a member of the association and participates in many of the organised activities.

Carolina Cortés Joined MexVic Facebook Group when arriving to Melbourne, Australia.

No Carolina is a graduate international student who arrived to Melbourne two years ago. Carolina was

5 Please note that all of the interviewees mentioned in the table above accepted their participation on this research and signed a consent form previously reviewed and approved by The University of Melbourne Ethics Committee with the number 1545534.

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part of MexVic group until, due to several reasons, she withdrew from those spaces.

Edith Nava Member of MexVic Facebook Group

Yes Edith Nava is a Mexican student who came to Melbourne to undertake English courses. Edith is part of MexVic and has participated in several events organised by her community. Most recently, Nava participated as a member of the Mexican delegation during the Australia Day parade.

Mayela Reyes Member of MexVic Facebook Group

Yes Mayela Reyes is a recent graduate from the Master of International Development in Victoria University.

26

Mayela is part of MexVic community and has participated in the online debates.

Arantxa Aguilar Member of MexVic Facebook Group

No Arantxa Aguilar is newly arrived to Melbourne in order to pursuit

The interview interpretation

In accordance with Mats Alvesson, the interview is a resource which allows

researchers to build a holistic and suggestive picture of the social phenomenon

that facilitates thought and gives it an overall direction (Alvesson 2011, p.5).

The interview offers insights that reveal how the interviewees are building

knowledge in regard to their own context (2011, p.9); thus, the interview also

brings the opportunity to gain a detailed visualization on the social universe of

the interviewees.

Rosana Guber argues that although there is not an only way to interpret the

results of an interview, researchers need to be aware of the opportunities and

limitations of the several interpretative methodologies available for analysing

interviews (GUBER QUOTATION). While the anthropologic approaches to the

interview epistemology claim that it is necessary to understand the extent to

which the social reality influence their answers and their views on certain topics

(Guber 2002, Kaltheimer 2005), Alvesson explains that the important part of an

interview are not the answers themselves but the hidden arguments and

discourses behind them.

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From the thematic analysis to the semiotics, the available methodologies for

analysing the results of the interviews are good opportunities to engage with the

knowledge coming from them. Although most of the researchers believe that all

the study methodologies for interpreting the interviews have their advantages

and disadvantages, selecting one of them is crucial to critically engage with the

oral discourse of the participants.

The thematic analysis appears as a possibility to engage with the results of the

interviews as it is necessary to identify and classify the main topics addressed

by the participants. In that sense, the thematic analysis allows the research to

dissect and identify important clues on the lives of participants and the way

they engage with their social context. The thematic analysis is also a useful tool

to schematise the oral discourse of participants into an easily accessible

platform for consultation.

The virtual ethnography.

In accordance with Christine Hine, “virtual communities are social aggregations

that emerge from the net when enough people carry those multiple discussions

long enough with sufficient human feeling to form webs” (Hine 2000, p.3).

However, and although there have been important efforts to analyse

behavioural patterns within online communities, it is still very difficult to find a

specific methodology to understand the cultural implications of internet and its

social uses.

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Perhaps the biggest difference between traditional formations of people and

virtual communications are the sorts of interactions that could be presented in

virtual spaces and in non-internet places. As Hine acknowledges, it is necessary

to take a new approach on the internet based on the Internet as a cultural object

that brings together the cultural and the social aspect of this platform (2000,

p.1).

One of the advantages of using ethnography as a data gathering method resides

on the flexibility of this methodology for studying cultures in their natural state

and for its emphasis on the cultural phenomenon. On the other hand, the

ethnography is also an innovative methodology for analysing internet as it

provides important information on the universe of the participants and the way

they are relating their experience with the social reality.

Rosana Guber believes that the most important characteristic of the

ethnography is its subjectivity when it comes to gather information on the lives

of certain groups and communities. In that sense, Guber defines the

ethnography as “a participatory observation where, beyond the positivist ideal

of objectivity and scientific rigour, the point of view of the researcher is valued

and considered as part of the epistemic approach to knowledge” (Guber

QUOTATION PENDING).

As part of the data collection methodology of this thesis, the ethnography and

the participatory observation appeared as a possibility given that the researcher

belongs to the MexVic Facebook community and actively participates in the

group. In this case, objectivity becomes a conundrum given the fact that it

would not be possible to reach an ideal form of objectivity due to the personal

involvement of the researcher; nonetheless the personal proximity between the

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researcher and the participants nourishes the data collection and adds a different

kind of reflexivity in the research.

Collecting ethnographic information on posts as well as semi structured

interviews provide this research work with an insightful panorama on the study

object. In contrast with quantitative methodologies, qualitative tools offer the

possibility of digging in the whole universe of significations surrounding a

social problem. In that sense, nourishing the thesis with the qualitative

approach yielded a different set of results that would not be possibly gathered

with a positivist quantitative methodology.

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Chapter IV

Participation within the Mexican Association of Victoria Facebook group: A

testimony on the usage.

The Mexican Association of Victoria is a non-profit organisation which aims to “promote and increase knowledge and appreciation of Mexican culture and traditions between Mexicans and people living in Victoria, and create opportunities for social, cultural and economic integrations between Mexicans in the Australian context” Its main goal is to be a platform for promoting the expression of Mexican rich cultural heritage and tradition including language, art, music, gastronomy, history and contemporary affairs. (MexVic, 2016).

Since the origins of MexVic, the organisation has organised a series of events and meetings with the aim of supporting Mexican migrants in their adaptation process while “keeping alive the cultural heritage”. In order to enhance the communication among the members of the organisation, the leaders decided to create a Facebook group which counts with approximately 1,159 members6 . In accordance with the group founders, this group has a main goal the “establishment of an open space for Mexicans settled in Victoria for them to communicate among each other and to solve any enquire this community could have” (MexVic, 2016). In words of MexVic president, Sandra Moye, the group has served as a “cornerstone for the development of relationships among members of the community for them to enhance their life as Mexican migrants in the state of Victoria” (Personal Communication, 2016).

In 2014 and as a consequence of what could be considered as a harsh period on the political history of Mexico; members of several Mexican organisations around Australia organised a series of demonstrations pursuing to “raise awareness on the human rights abuses and to criticize the visit of the president to the 2014 Brisbane G20 Summit” (Telesur, 2014). In accordance to one of the protesters, the aim of the protest was also to push the Australian government to ban the visit of a corrupt leader to the country.

6 Please note that this information was gathered on the 24th of March 2016 and probably has changed at the moment of reading this document. For further details please visit www.facebook.com/MexVic

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What characterises this social movement when it first started was the blast of opinions through social media spaces, particularly on the ones dedicated to connect Mexican migrants in Australia. From the biggest groups-Mexicans in Sydney, Mexicans in Melbourne and Mexicans in Australia- dozens of users engaged on several discussions that ended up in demonstrations around the country. In the words of Lourdes Garcia, activist and member of the Mexican Association of Victoria; the protests emerged as a way of showing the families of the forty-three disappeared students of the Ayotzinapa Rural School of Teaching that “[…] they´re supported and feel that we can support our communities and our families back home. We have a terrible homicide rate of over fifty people per day, all because of the violence” (Telesur, 2014).

One of the characteristics that made of these protests peculiar was the use of social media as the place where the protests started. In accordance to one of the persons involved in the movement, the social media served as a catalyser for the development of connections among users and helped to spread the ideas that ended up in the demonstrations (Personal Communication, 2016). Even though many of the group members decided to join this movement, the moderation here played a key role determining the nature of the conversations and interactions within the Facebook group.

The now former moderator of MexVic Facebook group argues that one of the characteristics of this Facebook group resides on its neutrality when it comes to political topics and discussion. In words of the same moderator, “we try to be neutral because we don´t want to create difference or conflict of interest and of course each one of us have our own opinions so as an association we try to avoid conflicts” (Personal Communication, 2016). Her views on this issue correspond to one of the main purposes of the association which states that “the mutual respect is a basic component of the values of the association” (MexVic, 2016).

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As the political participation within MexVic Facebook group as well as some other groups of Mexican migrants in Australia is not allowed given the coexistence rules. One of the founders of new spaces for the discussion of Mexican political issues argues that it was necessary to move the discussions to new spaces as the moderators were not completely agree with the idea of holding political conversations in the groups (Personal Communication, 2016).

Although it seems that the engagement level on political conversations within these groups is very high; the big variety of comments and opinions with regard to the role of these groups make of the task of understanding the discourse of participants something challenging. What characterised the series of interviews made in terms of this research was the plurality of answers and ways people are engaging with the discussions within these groups.

The interviewee Carolina Cortes argues that “although the Facebook groups are an amazing place to engage with political topics; she finds MexVic and other groups of Mexicans residing in Australia unappealing as the members are more concerned on posting pyramidal sales advertising instead of more relevant things” (Personal Communication, 2016). On the other hand, Mayela Reyes believes that “the sort of activism emerging in these groups is not adequate due to the proposed demonstrations are more marketing that real social change” (Personal Communication, 2016).

In spite that many of the group members engage on political discussions; the reality is that the political engagement in the group is far from being homogeneous. In that sense, the interviewee Carlos Paz thinks that “the Mexican culture has a lot to do with the political disengagement as the members are not used to respect the opinion of the people as they apparently don´t want to make the people feel welcomed in Australia” (Personal Communication, 2016). A similar opinion is shared by Edith Nava who thinks that “Mexicans are not engaged enough on politics given that most of them are fleeing the bad situation in the country” (Personal Communication, 2016).

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As some of the users complained about the political debates within MexVic, some of the organisers of the demonstrations decided to abandon the group in order to founding a new one with merely political motivations. Australia in Action for Ayotzinapa7 is a group that aims to “demand the Mexican government the return of the 43 students and an efficient and definitive performance to solve the situation of violence within the country” (Australia in Action for Ayotzinapa, 2015). So far, this group of activism has given some Mexican expats the opportunity to engage on political discussions and to protest via movie exhibitions and discussion panels. Part of the activities this group has planned contemplated the visit of the Mexican activist Omar Garcia8 to Australia; however it was cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances.

Fig 1. This image shows some of the protestors on the Australia in Action for Ayotzinapa demonstration in Melbourne, 2014.

7 The Ayotzinapa case is one of the most relevant cases of impunity in contemporary Mexico. In accordance with official versions, 43 students disappeared after attending a demonstration against the former mayor of the city. At the moment there are theories pointing out that the students were incinerated on common graves. These theories have not been confirmed or denied by the Mexican General Attorney. 8 Omar Garcia is a student from the Rural Teaching School of Ayotzinapa who allegedly survived to the forced disappearance of forty three students on November 2014 in the remote town of Ayotzinapa, Guerrero. Garcia advocates for the overseas governments to recognise the “inherent corruption and human rights abuses coming from the Mexican government” (Garcia, 2014).

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Apathy and disengagement in MexVic: An obstacle for the development of the online public sphere.

Although it seems that the relationships among users are good within groups; the reality is that the diversity of opinions make of the internal coexistence inside the online forums something challenging for moderators and page administrators. The president of MexVic thinks that “the group is not a space for political discussion and they have had to overcome some particular challenges such as controlling the neutrality of the comments coming from certain users {…} On the other hand, the internet is a good space for the communities to connect and share experiences” (Personal Communication, 2015).

Most of the interviewees agree that it is very difficult to engage on any sort of discussions in MexVic group due to the bad attitude of the people involved in the group. From the disagreement to the apathy, the members have had several experiences with the group and their attitudes towards it are diverse. Whereas some of the member do not engage with any discussion or post on the group, some others have deeply engaged on posts that go beyond the politics. In accordance with Edith Nava, this group gave her the possibility of interacting with other Mexicans as she feels lonely and homesick in Australia.

Some of the factors that influence the participation and engagement of the people on the group have a lot to do with the constructions of identities on overseas contexts. In accordance with the interviewee Mayela Reyes, one of the reasons why she started posting on the group obeys to the necessity of finding friends to do new activities in Melbourne or for the simple purpose of networking.

Most of the interviewees agree that the group needs to be more moderated in

order to assure a respectful interaction among the members of it. In that sense,

the president of the association clarifies that “they try to make the people to feel

comfortable in the group by keeping a neutrality on political topics and that

some members had to be shut down for infringing this rule” (Personal

Communication, 2016). On the other hand, three of the interviewees think that

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although it is very interesting to see how political debates are emerging, they

would never engage on them as they would not like to be disrespected by other

members of the group.

The political neutrality of the group has caused various reactions. While some

of the members consider it as something necessary for the good development of

the group; others do not agree and think that the group should be more open to

different political perspectives. In that sense, the active member Lourdes Garcia

believes that “the political correctness and neutrality inside the group has

caused that the Mexicans become unlikely participants of contemporary

democracy as they would never be engaged with the topics they should be

really concerned of” (Personal Communication, 2016).

The apathy and disengagement in social media is caused by several factors. As

previously addressed, the members of certain communities might feel

disoriented when it comes to engage and participate in certain issues due to the

rules of some forums do not allow them to do that; however the real motives of

disengagement go beyond the grounds of the empiric obviousness. In

accordance with Anita Harris and Joana Win, the apparent existence of apathy

and disengagement within online communities is related to the “changing

nature of participation among citizens and a very high transformation within the

social structure” (Harrys, Wyn & Younes 2010, p. 12).

The moderation within the groups could be considered as another factor which

influences the lack of political participation of the people in online groups.

Despite the rules of MexVic explicitly clarify that political posts should be

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avoided in order to enhance the interaction among users; some of the members

who agree on politically engaging with topics think that “if posting irrelevant

stuff like crappy jobs and dodgy advertising is allowed, then I don´t understand

why would posting relevant political information is not allowed by the

administrators” (Personal Communication, 2016). On the other hand, the

president of the organisation acknowledges that “they had dealt with people

who do not agree with the political neutrality policy; however at the moment

everything seems to be more calmed” (Personal Communication, 2016). At the

moment, many of the users prefer not to engage in any conversation within the

group given the supposed strict moderation system.

Facebook policies: A major issue when it comes to moderate Facebook

groups.

“People use Facebook to share their experiences and to raise awareness about

issues that are important to them. This means that you may encounter opinions

that are different from yours, which we believe can lead to important

conversations about difficult topics. To help balance the needs, safety and

interest of a community, however, we may remove certain kinds of sensitive

content or limit the audience that sees it.” This is how Facebook acknowledges

its role as a moderator of the contents within the platform.

In accordance with Ben Macloughing, one of the mistakes of Habermas when

constructing the idea of public sphere was the lack of vision towards the future

37

of media and the sort of access people could have to it. In that sense, and

although the digital divide is still a factor to consider when affirming the

existence of Facebook as a new public sphere, Facebook poses a new sort of

challenge in terms of research (Macloughing 2012, p.5).

There is extensive scholarly research arguing that Facebook is far from being a

new sort of public sphere given that this platform is governed by certain terms

and conditions that obey to the corporative nature of Facebook as a company.

As Don Waisanen believes, the nature of the Facebook algorithm and its

marketing oriented design, make of Facebook an unlike place to be called a

totally horizontal public sphere (Waisanen, 2008).

One of the key reasons why the moderator of The Mexican Association of

Victoria group decided to make this group a space free of political discussions

and “controversial debates” lies in the necessity of following the rules of

Facebook in order to avoid problems with the corporation. In words of Sandra

Moye, “they know that Facebook is a space to be respected and that is why we

prefer to avoid politically based confrontations among the members of the

organisation”.

Since Facebook changed its terms and conditions in order to be a more

advertising oriented space, the nature of conversations in fan pages and groups

acquired a different tonality. In the particular case of MexVic, the posting and

the engagement on conversations has dramatically decreased “from the moment

Facebook decided to create an algorithm which reduced the number of views

the posts could have” (Personal Communication, 2016). On the other side, the

leader of the organisation also recognises the importance of “marketing

strategies that could enhance the value of a Facebook Group where the

engagement is progressively decreasing” (Personal Communication, 2016).

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When interrogated with regard to the frequency they engage on MexVic posts,

the interviewees responded that they would engage more if they were able to

see all the posts. In accordance with Carlos Paz, “the fact that sometimes we are

not able to see what other users are posting make of the group something

boring” (Personal Communication, 2016). On the other hand, the interviewees

feel that since Facebook has very strict rules on groups, they would not engage

on any sort of feud in order to not risk their permanence of Facebook.

As a personal experience, the moderator of MexVic recounted that one of the

most challenging experiences of moderating this group occurred when a subject

started posting information and spam contrary to the Facebook terms and

conditions. After several warnings the person had to be expulsed of the group

given the fact it was affecting the way in which users were interacting on it.

Instead of promoting debate on groups, the moderators of MexVic prefer to

align the group to the Facebook terms and conditions in order to assure its

survival within the already competed space of Facebook; however the users

also play an important part aligning themselves to the website terms and

conditions. In that sense, the interactions within the group are both, highly

influenced by the moderators and conditioned to the terms and conditions of

Facebook.

Where moderation and Facebook users meet: MexVic and the public sphere.

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Although the idea of public sphere seems to be constantly evolving, it is still

very risky to assure that spaces such as Facebook can be considered as the ideal

places for political discussions many are claiming for. Habermas believes that,

the public sphere is a space where the relevant issues for a society are being

discussed (HABERMAS) and explained the historical development of the

public as an evolving idea; however online forums such as MexVic are still far

from being the ideal public sphere Habermas is proposing.

It was previously explained that, although the social media can be considered as

a new sort of public sphere given the relative accessibility provided by these

platforms to engage on discussions, Facebook lacks of characteristics that

would make it an ideal space for the development of a horizontal public sphere.

These characteristics are related to the role of moderation and the Facebook

policies.

After conducting a series of interviews with some members of the Mexican

Association of Victoria, the main findings were that, although some of them

enjoy engaging on debates and feel very comfortable commenting and posting

information; most of them do not feel engaged in any way due to past

experiences might had been not fulfilling or the consider the rules of the group

to be very strict. As one of the participants, who decided to remain anonymous,

acknowledged “The moderators prefer to keep the ads selling laundry machines

than the ones who are actually of public interest” (Personal Communication,

2016).In response to those allegations, the moderator argues that they delete

these sorts of controversial posts as they “could affect the page´s reputation and

these posts could also affect the interactions among the members”.

In order to better explain the sort of perception on MexVic, the table below

illustrates how the interviewees and the moderator perceive and interact with

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posts in the Facebook group. On the other hand, the comparative table also

intends to draw on how the relations of power are being articulated among the

interviewees- who are all members of the Facebook group- and the moderators.

The objective is to offer the reader with a detailed account on how the

relationship between the leaders of the group and the members of the

organisation.

Interviewee Position Main themes Position in respect to the moderator and

the Facebook policies.

Mayela Reyes

I used to think that these groups- she is also referring to another Facebook group of Mexicans in Melbourne-, were about friendship but when I started getting involved in the discussions and debates within them, I found out that instead of that, you have a group of people who want to behave as if they were in Mexico. What I mean with this, is that they don´t want to engage in any other sort of activity that doesn´t involve speaking Spanish or going to Latino parties. This group should be more about networking and the members should be more welcoming to the newly arrivals. I dislike the fact that they promote the sort of dodgy activities such

- Moderation- User´s

engagement on some sort of topics

- The need of different strategies for moderating the group.

With respect to the moderator, this user believes that the group needs more moderation due to its necessary to prevent the members of the group to engage on non-honest activities.This interviewee does not agree with the strict policies on moderation given the fact that she considers that these sort of forums need to be more regulated in order to enhance the interaction among users.

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as “cash in hand” jobs and shady migration agents.With respect to the debates within the groups; I think the moderators should be more flexible and allow discussing topics that are relevant for all the people involved in the group. I didn´t go to any of the demonstrations which emerged on this group; however I think is not correct to sell tacos on an event where you are talking about very sensitive topics such as the disappearance of the 43 students in Ayotzinapa.

CarolinaCortés

I was expecting these groups to be a real community and, also to be people trying to help each other out, but it was more for posting pyramid sales and businesses. Instead of helping people to enhance their experience in Australia, they are more like “it´s very difficult for foreigners to find a well-paid position or a job which does not consist on cleaning or waitressing”. On the other hand, I reckon that social media has a lot of potential as it brings people together on a way that other sorts of media probably would never do.Some people on those groups need to be more respectful and understand that no other

- Personal issues some users have with the Facebook group.

- The potential of social media as a communication space.

- Interactions among users.

With regard to the user´s engagement on social media, Carolina Cortés believes that the group has a big potential but the lack of moderation appears to be a big problem for she to engage on some discussions within the platform. Cortés believes that a better control on posts would enhance the experience of users.

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Mexican is gonna take the place they already have in Australia.

Edith Nava I think that although Australia is a very welcoming nation, I really miss the culture of Mexico and how warm Mexicans are. So, in that sense, I found on MexVic a very good space for meeting new friends and for developing new relationships with other Mexicans living in Australia. At the same time this was occurring, I also had the chance of meeting other people from different Latin American countries that have made me feel at home. With respect to the social media page, I believe that it´s a good space for discussing relevant topics but I prefer not to get very engaged with it. I think that this group should have a firm stance on racism which is a major problem in this country.

-Interactions within the group

In the case of Edith Nava, the experience with the group has been very fulfilling as she has expanded her network after becoming part of this online community. Nava believes that a strong Mexican community could be translated on protection against racist practices.

Carlos Paz I arrived to Australia two years ago. Since I can remember, everything I have lived has been good and the course I chose is way better of what I was imagining. When I first moved to Melbourne, I thought it would be a really good idea

-Personal experiences with the group.

-The issue of race

Carlos Paz believes that the group is a good tool for the Mexican community to communicate among each other although it could reinforce the negative stereotypes

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to contact my community in order to get in touch and see what other Mexicans are doing here in Melbourne.When I joined MexVic, I found that the people on that page where very selective and that they are addressing issues that really matter for the Mexican community in Australia. With them, I have participated in several events such as the Independence Day in Federation Square and the traditional Christmas celebration.I think that what is happening in our community is very sad because instead of showing support to others, they are just contributing to the creation of a stereotypical version of Mexico where the only possible thing Mexicans could aspire in life is to be waiters of a Latino pub.

towards the Mexican population.

Arantxa Aguilar

I arrived to Melbourne some months ago and, to be honest, I was feeling a little bit disoriented on where to find accommodation and friends.

- Personal Experiences within the group.

- Engagement on

Arantxa Aguilar thinks that although she is newly arrived to Melbourne, this group has been very

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When I first joined the Facebook groups, I thought it would be a good idea to start networking with some other Mexicans in order to create a community that could genuinely help each other.In MexVic as well as Mexicans in Melbourne I´ve found a lot of support from Mexicans and other members of the Latin American community that were keen to help me on what I needed as a newly arrived.When it comes to political debates on those platforms, I think it would be a good idea for the people to engage on a different way in the posts in order to discuss relevant topic. I think there are topics that are worth to be addressed because they are public issued and we all should care about them.

debates. useful for her as she has found accommodation and a wide range of services in Spanish. Arantxa believes that political discussions should be allowed as they are relevant for all Mexicans.

Adrian Gorelik believes that one of the characteristics of the social use of the idea of the public as a political resource resides on its flexibility when it comes to define what topics are of the public interest (QUOTATION). In that sense, although some people might think that talking and debating on certain topics is relevant for a whole community, some other might differ and think that the issue is not important.

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When this research work was on its beginnings, one of the aims was to analyse the political discourse coming from certain posts; nonetheless the interviews revealed that the conflict articulated between the moderators and the users hides traces with regard to the important role of group administrators when it comes to configure the nature of social media debate.

On the other hand, the apparent disengagement and apathy are related to a series of factors which go from the role of moderators as important part of the configuration of debates to the cultural matrixes of the issue. Although this thesis approached solely on the role of Facebook policies and moderators, issues like racism, language and culture appear to be contributing factors for the disengagement.

The fact that Mexico and Australia are culturally distant, has also generated the exponential growth of these communities given that they provide assistance for the newly arrival. One of the common patterns in two of the interviews is related to the power of Facebook as a platform to gather people into one cause. Although each individual has an idea on what the public topics should be, all the interviewees coincided on the fact that Mexico has urgent issues to discuss as a country and the adequate forums to approach them need to be open.

Chapter V

Conclusion

When it was decided to endeavour research on the public sphere and the internet, and particularly social media, one of the first ideas that emerged was related to the powerful role of those platforms as elements that articulate a

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space for political emancipation. However, this idea progressively changed as the anthropologic interviews revealed that, far from considering social media groups as spaces for political deliberation, users raise more concern on the extent to which moderation and Facebook policies affect their interactions on social media.

One of the factors that contributed the most to the election of the topic was motivated by a personal interest on Spanish speaking communities and the observation on the nature of political debates within those platforms. In November 2014, a human rights crisis in Mexico unleashed a scandalous social media debate which ended up in the organisation of demonstrations against the diplomatic visit of the Mexican president Enrique Peña and his wife Angelica Rivera. Although some of the members of the MexVic Facebook group participated in the aforementioned demonstrations, not all of them agree with the proliferation of these sorts of events within the platform of MexVic.

In accordance with Sandra Moye, former president of MexVic and moderator of the Facebook group, one of the main objectives of the organisation is to be a cornerstone for the Mexican community residing in Victoria to reunite and organise activities, nonetheless when it comes to politics the organisation decided to maintain a political neutrality policy in order to avoid conflicts. On the base of that rule, some posts and publications have been deleted from the social media page.

Habermas believes that the public sphere is a structural space where the democracy, the politics and the debate collide in order to enhance the vital debate needed for the society to progress. Historically, the public sphere is an idea that has been transformed depending on various circumstances. In accordance with the same Habermas, the idea of public sphere is to gather certain members of a city or a community for them to take decisions, design policies and create rules for the common welfare.

The role of the media shaping the public sphere is one of the most relevant issues approached by Habermas on his prominent book The Historical Transformation of the Public Sphere. As Habermas himself recognises, the media plays a key role as the channel that spreads information and, hence, generates the public debate. Although in a utopian scenario, the media would play a neutral role on the public debate, there are power relations wrapped in the news making process that make of the media a biased space.

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When new research thinks on the social media, the opinions on its functioning get extremely polarised. On the one hand, some researchers believe that social media might be considered as a new public sphere given its nature as a trigger for the political debate and, on the other hand, some others think that social media generates a sort of apathy towards politics. Far from that polarising approach, this research focused on the action of moderation and the website terms and conditions and the results pointed out to different directions.

The Facebook terms and conditions are characterised by its unpredictable application on the everyday practice. Recent cases on the application of the Facebook terms and conditions betray the bias of its application when it comes to determine what the sorts of criteria are for Facebook to enforce their own regulations on the posts that should be banned from the platform.

Although Facebook recognises that they respect the diversity of opinions within the platform, one of the prime statements

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