Controversies in Digital Ethics Controversies in Digital Ethics Edited by Amber Davisson and Paul Booth Bloomsbury Academic An imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Inc NEW YORK • LONDON • OXFORD • NEW DELHI • SYDNEY Bloomsbury Academic An imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Inc 1385 Broadway 50 Bedford Square New York London NY 10018 WC1B 3DP USA UK www.bloomsbury.com BLOOMSBURY and the Diana logo are trademarks of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc First published 2016 © Amber Davisson, Paul Booth, and Contributors, 2016 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or t ransmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publishers. No responsibility for loss caused to any individual or organization acting on or refraining from action as a result of the material in this publication can be accepted by Bloomsbury or the author. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Controversies in digital ethics / edited by Amber Davisson and Paul Booth. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-5013-1056-0 (hardback : alk. paper) 1. Mass media—Moral and ethical aspects. 2. Digital media—Moral and ethical aspects. I. Davisson, Amber L., editor. II. Booth, Paul, 1981–editor. P94.C77 2016 175—dc23 2015028754 ISBN: HB: 9781501310560 ePDF: 9781501310539 ePub: 9781501310546 Typeset by Deanta Global Publishing Services, Chennai, India Amber would like to dedicate this book to Thaddeus Lincoln Wood. I do this work in hopes that the digital world you inhabit someday will be a safe place to work and play. Paul would like to dedicate this book to his grandparents, Jack and Iris Booth and Sidney and Eileen Wise. Thank you for your love, support, and guidance. Contents List of Illustrations ix Acknowledgments x Introduction to Controversies in Digital Ethics Amber Davisson and Paul Booth 1 Section One Seeking Privacy in the Age of Digital Surveillance 1 Little Brother: How Big Data Necessitates an Ethical Shift from Privacy to Power J. J. Sylvia IV 13 2 “The classroom is NOT a sacred space”: Revisiting Citizen Journalism and Surveillance in the Digital Classroom Mary Grace Antony and Ryan J. Thomas 29 3 Passing Around Women’s Bodies Online: Identity, Privacy, and Free Speech on Reddit Amber Davisson 44 4 Freedom, Democracy, Power, Irony: The Ethics of Information and the Networked Fourth Estate Ryan Gillespie 58 Section Two Participatory Culture 5 Programs or People? Participation and the Ethics of Hacktivism Brett Lunceford 77 6 Just War Craft: Virtue Ethics and DotA Matthew Pittman and Tom Bivins 91 7 Between Ethics, Privacy, Fandom, and Social Media: New Trajectories that Challenge Media Producer/Fan Relations Lucy Bennett, Bertha Chin, and Bethan Jones 107 8 “Rogue” Advertising in the Digital Age: Creative Reputation Building or Industry Irresponsibility? Michelle A. Amazeen and Susan A. O’Sullivan-Gavin 123 viii Contents 9 “Steve Jobs is Dead”: iReport and the Ethos of Citizen Journalism Shane Tilton 138 Section Three Professional Communication 10 Perfectly “Compliant”: The Devaluation of Ethics in Corporate Communication Industry Discourse Sam Ford 155 11 The Emerging Ethics of Digital Political Strategists Luis E. Hestres 172 12 Cash Out: Philanthropy, Sustainability, and Ethics in Nonprofit News Joe Cutbirth 186 13 When Privates are Public: Ethical Issues in News Media Coverage of Transgender People Susan Wildermuth 202 14 The Harm of Video Games: The Ethics Behind Regulating Minors’ Access to Violent Video Games in Light of the Supreme Court Ruling Ryan Rogers 216 Section Four Identity in a Digital World 15 Paradigm Shift: Media Ethics in the Age of Intelligent Machines David J. Gunkel 233 16 Race, Gender, and Digital Media: The Mis-Adventures of Awkward Black Girl and Representations of Black Female Identity Erin Watley 248 17 “Be a Bully to Beat a Bully”: Twitter Ethics, Online Identity, and the Culture of Quick Revenge Scott R. Stroud 264 18 Branding Feminism: Corporate Blogging and the Shaky Relationship between Ideology and Profitability Molly Bandonis with Paul Booth 279 19 Not Your Mother’s Video Game: The Role of Motherhood in Video Game Advertising Shira Chess 295 Afterword: Ethics—and Emancipation—for the  Rest of Us? Charles M. Ess 308 References 321 Notes on Contributors 365 Index 373 List of Illustrations Figures 7.1 and 7.2 Tweets to Orlando Jones, November 2013 119 Table 18.1 Jezebel July 23, 2014 288