while news verification should be about facts, it is often done through a political lens. This begs the question: Will programs such as community notes that rely heavily on user verification serve their purpose or further exacerbate information disorder

We find news authentication is a resilience tool fostered by institutional trust & political efficacy, esp where structural factors fail to curb misinfo, but it's also fueled by conspiracy beliefs in Western democracies, reflecting its 'dark side' in contexts of growing anti-establishment sentiments

We used a multilevel comparative approach to examine how individual characteristics & structural contexts together shape news authentication, comparing countries with distinct media & political systmes: the Netherlands, the US, and Hong Kong with a preregistered, population-based survey (N = 6,082)

This issue highlights disconnection as a constrained act, a collective strategy against systemic issues & enforced disconnection as both control and resistance. It calls for reflection on normative assumptions shaping our understanding through interdisciplinary perspectives, contexts & methods

Studying internet censorship in China designed to disconnect individuals from connective actions, Kun He, @seldridge.com & @mjbroersma.bsky.social show how citizens navigate threats through innovative conenction tactics, while elites use enforced disconnection to evade public scrutiny

Manisha Madapathi presents a case study on internet Blackouts during the farmers' protests in India, illustrating how sate-enforced internet shutdown shape political activism and reinforce inequality, and how various involved groups resisted the communicative restrictions bit.ly/3QedGH6

Anamarija Šiša examines ghosting as disconnection in online dating. Through interviews with Tinder users in Ljubljana, she shows that ghosting is used for self-protection, driven by vulnerability due to information overload and a perceived lack of authenticity in online dating bit.ly/40QWwVa

This is echoed by Jiewen Deng & @jasonpridmore.bsky.social. Studying Hong Kong migrants in London, they argue that selective non-use of social media is boundary-making around identity politics, shaped by the discourse of otherness and socio-political context of migration experiences bit.ly/42OKtKk

In an ethnography, @claudiaminchilli.bsky.social shows how Turkish migrant women in Rome disconnect from social media to negotiate identities and create safe spaces for political expression, shaped by their inherent ties to homeland and the diffuse control of digital connectivity bit.ly/42JwvcS

Examining journalists' collective disconnection, @dbossio.bsky.social, @journoscholar.bsky.social Avery Holton @loganex.bsky.social show how experience sharing & internal training drive systemic change to protect journalists' well-being from the organizational demand for connectivity bit.ly/3WQCskv

Tom De Leyn and colleagues focus on disconnection at a collective level. Through interviews with Belgian policymakers, they examine the institutional conditions of disconnection, revealing a conflict between autonomy and regulation in digital policy bit.ly/3WYwCgT

Veysel Bozan & @emilianotrere.com critique the booming digital disconnection industry, highlighting that disconnection discourse is rooted in material social structures: it frames disconnection as an obligation for labor quality and work efficiency, thereby reinforcing material power bit.ly/4hSPkhW

@nik.aoir.social.ap.brid.gy offers a classification of social media features for interpersonal disconnection. He highlights that, while disconnection stems from social considerations, technical features embed values and assumptions into design, shaping behavioral outcomes bit.ly/3EJE7Ss

Felix-Christopher von Nostitz and colleagues examine avoiding political use of social media as a salient form of political disconnection after 2022 French election, highlighting the role of political interest, digital skills, platform affordances & culture in shaping disconnection bit.ly/42OXJPf

@bingbingzhang.bsky.social and Heather Shoenberger focus on emotions in political unfriending. Through a survey in the US, they find that disconnection is an anger response to disagreement and an emotion regulation strategy to manage anxiety bit.ly/41508UF

Studying Flemish adolescents' use of disconnection eg tools screentime tracker, @lisemarienassen.bsky.social @kathrinkarsay.bsky.social @lauravandenbosch.bsky.social @laraschreurs.bsky.social find it shaped by lived experiences including developmental stages, gender roles & well-being bit.ly/3QiByt7

Featuring studies from various countries, this issue bridges political communication, media studies, migration studies & journalism to rethink disconnection beyond the individual level, highlighting its shaping by social, technological & political forces, indicative of systemic issues bit.ly/4aPqVI1