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Algorithms make highly consequential decisions and, thereby, exercise considerable power. In this study, I investigate how social power through algorithms is exercised in media consumption, particularly through curation algorithms. This conceptual paper then contributes to the understanding of social power through algorithms by suggesting the concept of algorithmic meta-capital. The concept derives from Bourdieu's theory on meta-capital which has also been applied to legacy media. I then argue that this algorithmic meta-capital is an extension of the power traditionally held by the state and legacy media. The study also contributes to the understanding of meta-capital as it proposes how the meta-capital possessed by digital intermediaries functions. It does so by legitimating representations of the world and by creating a necessity for algorithmic visibility across different fields, thereby shaping habitus. This Bourdieusian approach enables researchers to take a balanced view on the power of algorithms on the structure/agency continuum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How is positive deviance utilised by the news media in the destigmatisation of a consumption practice? I study this question in the context of veganism through critically informed frame analysis of a major British newspaper, the Daily Mail. This context is ideal for such an analysis as the image of veganism has been transformed in the recent years from a stigmatised lifestyle to a normalised, healthy diet. Furthermore, this transformation has particularly taken place through celebrities, who are conceptualised as positive deviants. I then develop a discursive framing perspective of the role of media in the destigmatisation process of a consumption practice. The resulting framework shows how media can use positive deviance in destigmatisation by managing both the boundaries of the stigmatised practice and the dynamics of positive deviancy. Moreover, this framework contextualises the different frames in terms of the organisational, institutional, and national context as well as macro-level ideologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]