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In this research, we engaged in a cyber-archaeology of interactive media utilized by Qanon content creators to determine if the concept of diffused intertextual production was present in their work. Most of these content creators were engaged in commercial endeavors with their content. Through our research, we found a communicative strategy similar to diffused intertextual production was utilized by content creators in the Qanon community, but with key differences. We call this emergent strategy centralized intertextual fortification. Our analysis demonstrates that there were different kinds of content creators associated with the Qanon community: intertextual curators, interactive accumulators, and interactive confederates. The first two often "boost" one another and the newer confederates through the content that they produce. In addition, interactivity associated with the various social media and streaming platforms did not allow for followers to take part in the production process as in the case of diffused intertextual production. Instead, the user-to-user interactivity provided by followers of the content creators entailed praise, sharing of virtual objects, and expressions of ideology. Taken together, this centralized use of intertextuality and interactivity allows for these commercially oriented content creators to spread the Qanon intertext, as well as reinforce it through the interactivity of their followers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The following paper explores the establishment of credibility by two forms of alternative media: (1) a traditional alternative media site, and (2) an alternative media program embedded within a mainstream channel. We engaged in a qualitative content analysis of the program Declassified produced by Epoch Times and circulated via YouTube, and the program Hannity broadcast by Fox News. In particular, we focused on the claims made by the hosts, and the sources that they provided in their reports. We found that the host of the former worked to overcome an alternative journalism credibility gap by engaging in mainstream news mimicry, while the host of the latter largely relied on the credibility that came from being embedded in a mainstream channel. Overall, these findings hold important implications for the construction of credibility through alternative media channels that are increasingly influencing mainstream political discourse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The following essay explores the racial politics within an online community focused on the city of Detroit. Past research has demonstrated that the intertextual strategies utilized by the DetroitYES! community have built an alternative cityscape that changes the way people interact with the physical environment. In our research we engaged in a qualitative content analysis of different threads on the discussion forum, and we interviewed members of the community to illustrate racial politics in this virtual site. Our research illustrated administrative strategies utilized within the community that closed down discourse about race. On the surface, these appeared to be authoritarian strategies that maintained White privilege. However, further research and analysis demonstrated how these strategies gave rise to the possibilities for narrative appropriation and building bridges by minority communities. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]