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        <title>Frontiers in Communication | New and Recent Articles</title>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/communication</link>
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        <pubDate>2026-07-25T21:14:29.697+00:00</pubDate>
        <ttl>60</ttl>
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        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2026.1840532</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2026.1840532</link>
        <title><![CDATA[A systematic literature review on national image in film]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-07-24T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Systematic Review</category>
        <author>Lina Bai</author><author>Nurzihan Hassim</author><author>Shamsiah Abd Kadir</author><author>Qun Li</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Film, emerging as a powerful propaganda tool since the early 20th century, has evolved into an important cultural carrier for the construction of national image, drawing increasing interest from researchers. Although many studies have been conducted to explore how films construct national image, there is still a lack of systematic literature review in this field. Therefore, this study aims to conduct a systematic literature review (SLR) concerning the construction of national image in film. This study included five key methodological steps, including developing the review protocol, formulating research questions, conducting a systematic search, adopting the MMAT tool to conduct quality appraisal and screening, and data extraction and synthesis. Three main themes were discovered: (1) the elements of film in constructing national image; (2) the narrative strategy of film in constructing national image; (3) the cross-cultural communication strategy of national image in film.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2026.1906209</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2026.1906209</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Algorithmic clearance as professional communication: public traces from AI-augmented auditing]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-07-24T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Hypothesis and Theory</category>
        <author>Yuhao Xiong</author><author>Huanchen Zhang</author><author>Yunqian Wang</author>
        <description><![CDATA[AI auditing is discussed as detection: systems find anomalies, classify risk, and expand audit coverage. This article shifts attention to a quieter communicative function: AI outputs also tell professionals where to keep looking and where an area may be treated as cleared. We develop a communication-theoretic framework for algorithmic clearance signals in AI-augmented auditing. Drawing on organizational information processing, sensemaking, human–machine communication, and communication-constitutes-organization perspectives, we argue that clearance is not transmitted information with a fixed meaning. Professional receivers interpret it through workflow roles, accountability expectations, and data-environment reliability. A “clear” signal may focus professional skepticism when controls are strong, yet create substitution risk when controls are weak and the underlying data are noisy. We call this conditional risk AI assurance substitution. To make the argument traceable, we derive public traces in audit-report communication, narrative disclosure, process measures, and market information. An exploratory exercise using SEC EDGAR, DEF 14A, XBRL companyfacts, Item 4.02 restatement filings, and market data illustrates the framework with a conservative audit-AI disclosure proxy. A 150-filing snippet audit finds audit/control-adjacent context in 18 of 80 positive-proxy snippets (22.5%), underscoring that the proxy is a public-text trace rather than direct evidence of engagement-level AI adoption. Weak-control firm-years differ on several public reporting and market covariates relevant to the signal-environment argument, and one supplementary diagnostic suggests longer narrative disclosure in AI-intensive weak-control observations. Other traces are uneven. Public records provide partial traceability for algorithmic-clearance communication, but not direct evidence of engagement-team interpretation or follow-up.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2026.1874444</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2026.1874444</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Media and information literacy and civic actors to counter disinformation in the age of artificial intelligence: insights from Mexico]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-07-24T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>María Del Carmen Fernández Chapou</author><author>Adalí Frias Deniz</author>
        <description><![CDATA[This article investigates the strategies employed by civil society and academic actors in Mexico to develop media and information literacy (MIL), fact-checking, and digital media observation in response to AI-mediated disinformation during electoral processes. The analysis centers on the case of the fact-checking organization Verificado and the academic monitoring initiatives of the Digital Media Observatory at Tecnológico de Monterrey (OMD-Tec). The study adopts the UNESCO MIL approach as its primary analytical framework, complemented by perspectives from Media Ecology and General Semantics. The article proposes a collaborative model between civil society organizations and universities to address technological and informational challenges in critical contexts, thereby contributing to the sustainability of democratic systems in Latin America. This research situates Latin American MIL experiences within the global information ecosystem, underscoring their significance for rethinking media governance, digital rights, and the cultural dimensions of democracy in the era of artificial intelligence.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2026.1879702</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2026.1879702</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Discursive strategies in Japanese initial news coverage of BYD’s entry into Japan]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-07-23T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Yan Zhang</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Grounded in the theoretical framework of Critical Cognitive Linguistics, this study examines the discursive strategies employed in the three selected initial reports published by the Asahi Shimbun, the Nikkei, and the Yomiuri Shimbun. These reports were released within 24 h following BYD's official announcement of its entry into the Japanese market on July 21, 2022. The analysis focuses on two cognitive mechanisms: spatial metaphor and categorization. The findings reveal that the three newspapers exhibit a discursive pattern of constructing an inside/outside division through the spatial metaphor of “internal space vs. external entrant.” BYD is consistently labeled with nationality-based markers, whereas Japanese domestic automakers, consumers, and the home market appear as unmarked, default referents. At the same time, the coverage acknowledges BYD's competitive strengths in technology and product design, indicating that the discourse is characterized not by simple exclusion but by a complex interplay between recognition of foreign industrial capability and concern over domestic competitive positioning. This observed pattern, limited to the three initial reports analyzed, suggests a protective orientation toward the Japanese automotive industry.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2026.1932398</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2026.1932398</link>
        <title><![CDATA[False dilemmas and real challenges: GenAI and the algorithmization of experience]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-07-23T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Opinion</category>
        <author>Silvana Comba</author><author>Edgardo Toledo</author>
        <description></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2026.1864468</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2026.1864468</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Fear, war, and algorithms: the limits of regulating AI-generated campaign speech in Hungary]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-07-23T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Perspective</category>
        <author>Zsuzsa Detrekoi</author>
        <description><![CDATA[This article examines the regulatory challenges posed by AI-generated, fear-based political communication through the example of a Hungarian election campaign video depicting a fictional wartime scenario. Widely disseminated on social media, the video employs emotionally intense imagery and narrative framing to present electoral choice as a matter of survival, raising questions about the limits of lawful political speech in digitally mediated environments. The analysis argues that such content reveals a structural gap in contemporary speech regulation. While existing legal frameworks—at the national, European Union, and platform levels—are designed to address clearly defined harms such as incitement, deception, or voter interference, they remain largely unable to respond to emotionally manipulative yet formally lawful political communication. The Hungarian case illustrates this limitation clearly: despite its disturbing nature, the video does not appear to fall within existing sanctionable categories under Hungarian law, appears to fall outside the jurisdiction of media authorities, and would be unlikely to trigger removal obligations under EU law or platform standards. This gap is especially significant in relation to the protection of minors, as content that would ordinarily be subject to safeguards in media regulation may circulate freely during election campaigns. The article situates this problem within broader debates on digital speech regulation and political polarization, arguing that regulatory approaches are better equipped to address falsehood than emotional manipulation. It concludes that future responses should focus on complementary mechanisms—such as platform governance measures such as age-gating, warning screens, and reduced algorithmic amplification—rather than expanding content-based restrictions on political speech.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2026.1829004</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2026.1829004</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Financial and media literacy in the digital age: combating financial misinformation in Arab FinTech ecosystems]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-07-23T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Sherif Badran</author><author>Abu Bashar</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Scams fraudulent investment claims and digital fraud are among the financial misinformation threats that Arab societies are facing as they embrace the quick digitization of financial services. This study explores how media and financial literacy work together to empower people to recognize and fend off financial disinformation in Arab FinTech ecosystems. In this paper a dual-literacy framework is developed and empirically tested using a quantitative cross-sectional survey design drawing on framing theory financial capability models media literacy theory and social cognitive theory. 750 respondents from five Arab nations—Egypt Saudi Arabia Jordan the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain—provided the data. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM) confirmed important relationships showing that dual literacy greatly improves misinformation detection (β = .61 p < .001). The results emphasize the importance of integrated literacy initiatives in educational and financial institutions as well as the policy ramifications for digital resilience.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2026.1930882</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2026.1930882</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Correction: The evolution mechanism of regional public brand value: towards an integrated framework]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-07-21T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Correction</category>
        <author>Chengmin Wang</author><author>Jiahui Li</author><author>Baohua Chen</author><author>Shunguo Li</author><author>Ziyi Chen</author>
        <description></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2026.1882237</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2026.1882237</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Techno-linguistic market communication framework]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-07-21T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Opinion</category>
        <author>LiQun Mao</author><author>HuiHui Zou</author>
        <description></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2026.1869597</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2026.1869597</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Register choice and symbolic authority in Saudi YouTube news comments]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-07-20T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Moayyad Al-Bohnayyah</author>
        <description><![CDATA[This article examines how register choice works as a resource of symbolic authority in Saudi YouTube news comments. It draws on a full domain-matched corpus of Arabic-script top-level comments posted on migration- and residency-policy videos published by Al Arabiya and SaudiNewsTV between 1 January 2024 and 31 December 2025. The corpus contains 88 videos and 1,285 eligible comments, from which a stratified analytic subsample of 360 comments was manually coded for register, authority function, stance mode, and related variables. Colloquialized written Arabic dominates numerically, but mixed intermediate Arabic is disproportionately concentrated in comments doing policy argument and legitimacy work. Higher written Arabic is rare but functionally marked, clustering around moral accusation, religious legitimacy, and formal institutional critique. Register distinctions in this corpus are thus not merely stylistic. They help make seriousness, legitimacy, solidarity, and exclusion publicly recognizable.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2026.1847154</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2026.1847154</link>
        <title><![CDATA[A systematic review of gendered access to climate information through community radio in Africa]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-07-20T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Systematic Review</category>
        <author>Enoch Kwame Tham-Agyekum</author><author>Fred Nimoh</author><author>Nele Erika Yaa Adade</author><author>Lewis Adom Onumah</author><author>Appiah Asante Sarpong</author><author>Lukeman Kwame Maamah</author><author>Fred Ankuyi</author>
        <description><![CDATA[IntroductionCommunity radio has been widely promoted as an accessible and inclusive medium for disseminating climate information. However, no systematic review has comprehensively synthesised evidence on gendered patterns of access, barriers, and enabling strategies across Africa. This review addresses that gap by examining how gender influences access to climate information through community radio and identifying factors that facilitate or constrain equitable access.MethodsA systematic review protocol was developed before data collection, and the review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020 guidelines. Searches were conducted in ScienceDirect, ProQuest, and Scopus for studies published between January 2015 and January 2025. Two independent reviewers screened titles, abstracts, and full texts using predefined eligibility criteria. Methodological quality was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal checklists appropriate to each study design, and inter-rater reliability was evaluated using Cohen's kappa. Data were synthesised thematically using Feminist Political Ecology as the interpretive framework.ResultsThe search identified 9,617,716 records, of which 33 studies met the inclusion criteria. The evidence base was concentrated in West and East Africa, with no eligible studies identified from North Africa and only one from Central Africa (Chad), revealing substantial regional evidence gaps. Twenty-eight of the 33 studies reported that men had significantly greater direct access to climate information through community radio than women, who frequently relied on male relatives or social networks as intermediaries. Major barriers included restrictive gender norms limiting women's ownership of communication devices and mobility (reported in 27 studies), institutional biases in programme design (25 studies), time poverty resulting from unpaid domestic responsibilities (22 studies), and low levels of digital or general literacy (19 studies). Effective strategies identified across the studies included Radio Listener Clubs, participatory co-design of programme content, gender-responsive broadcast scheduling, and the integration of women's existing social networks into information dissemination.DiscussionThe findings demonstrate persistent gender inequalities in access to climate information through community radio across Africa. Addressing these disparities requires structural interventions that tackle underlying gendered power relations rather than relying solely on technical improvements in information delivery. Community radio has the potential to become a transformative tool for climate adaptation when women are engaged as co-creators of content and active decision-makers instead of passive recipients. Future research should prioritise longitudinal and intervention-based studies, expand evidence generation in underrepresented regions such as Central and North Africa, and adopt intersectional analytical frameworks to better understand the diverse experiences of women.Systematic Review Registrationhttps://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD420261410142.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2026.1828992</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2026.1828992</link>
        <title><![CDATA[The sound of fairness: AI and recommender systems in the European music industry]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-07-20T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Marina Rossato Fernandes</author><author>Antonios Vlassis</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Recommender systems (RS) play a central role in structuring visibility in music platforms. In this context, fairness has emerged as a key normative concept guiding the discussions in the music governance. However, there is a gap in understanding the meaning of fairness in the light of RS. This article adds to this gap by examining how European music professionals conceptualize fairness in relation to RS and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Drawing on 22 semi-structured interviews and a survey of 360 respondents, the study adopts a qualitative grounded approach informed by insights from discursive institutionalism. The findings show that transparency emerges as the central dimension of fairness. Opacity is perceived as reinforcing platform power, shaping visibility and monetization, and impacting cultural diversity. AI is viewed as intensifying these dynamics, through opaque training practices and the promotion of AI-generated content. While there is broad support for strengthening transparency, there is less consensus regarding how to promote cultural diversity. By foregrounding professional perspectives, the study conceptualizes fairness as a negotiated and context-dependent construct, contributing to a socially grounded understanding of algorithmic governance in digital music platforms.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2026.1792631</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2026.1792631</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Asymmetric framings, communication quality and actor representations: communications in the public sphere on genome-engineered biotechnologies in New Zealand]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-07-20T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Valentina Dinica</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Public communication plays a critical role in shaping how emerging technologies are contested and governed. This study examines the contestation patterns in media and official communications on genome-engineered biotechnologies in New Zealand, asking who dominates public debate, what themes structure debates and how robust the quality of communication is. Using an inductive research design, the analysis operationalises framings at the micro level through communication units, enabling systematic linkage between framing devices, actor positioning and communication quality across 124 media items and key policy documents published between 2017 and 2024. The findings reveal five communication domains, dominated by regulations, science and applications. They also show pronounced asymmetries in contestation patterns: pro-biotechnology actors dominate both media and policy communications, foregrounding innovation-driven deregulation and techno-optimistic futures, while omitting key scientific aspects. Actors critical of high-risk applications emphasise precaution, interactive public engagement, Māori perspectives and comprehensive scientific assessments. Quality deficient communications are concentrated among pro-biotechnology actors and sometimes amplified by journalists. The study advances research on communication by integrating framing scope, communication quality and actor power, highlighting implications for informed democratic deliberation and regulatory accountability.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2026.1871070</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2026.1871070</link>
        <title><![CDATA[What makes branded content campaigns effective: a ten-year analysis]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-07-20T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Ilhem Allagui</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Branded content has evolved alongside shifts in the media environment, increased user involvement in content creation, and growing demand for immersive, authentic brand experiences. This study uses the media logic framework to analyze how these changes shape the creation and evaluation of branded content in marketing communication. Focusing on best practices, it offers a longitudinal review of award-winning campaigns from the Cannes Creativity Festival over a ten-year period. The results highlight key success factors, including narrative cohesion, cultural relevance, and platform-specific tailoring, that boost audience engagement. By linking structural media shifts to industry practices over time, this research advances understanding of branded content and provides a practical framework for achieving excellence in an increasingly hybrid media landscape.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2026.1811238</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2026.1811238</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Minho Spoken Syllable Pool: a European Portuguese database]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-07-17T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Ana Paula Soares</author><author>David Tomé</author><author>André Araújo</author><author>Vinicius Canonici</author><author>Diana R. Pereira</author><author>Ana Cláudia Rodrigues</author><author>Alberto Lema</author><author>Helena Mendes Oliveira</author>
        <description><![CDATA[IntroductionExperimental psycholinguistic and speech-perception studies often rely on spoken stimuli assembled ad hoc for individual experiments, frequently with limited control over the frequency of selected units and incomplete documentation of stimulus properties known to influence perception and processing. Openly available resources that combine curated spoken sublexical recordings with unified, frequency-informed metadata remain scarce. The Minho Spoken Syllable Pool (MSSP) was developed to address this gap for European Portuguese.MethodsMSSP comprises 266 consonant-vowel (CV) syllables recorded under uniform conditions by a single native speaker, using a controlled recording setting and a constant recording chain and environment. Each item was annotated with integrated linguistic descriptors, including IPA and SAMPA transcriptions, segmental and articulatory information, and orthographic mappings. Corpus-derived type and token syllable frequency measures were computed from SUBTLEX-PT, with indices conditioned by word length and syllable position. Stress-related frequency counts were also included, allowing prosodic properties to be considered during stimulus selection. Selection-oriented acoustic descriptors, including syllable duration and F0, were extracted for all items.ResultsThe resulting database provides a controlled set of European Portuguese spoken CV syllables accompanied by unified linguistic, frequency-based, prosodic, and acoustic metadata. The repository includes both raw and edited audio versions, supporting reproducible use across experimental paradigms. The focus on CV syllables reflects their canonical status and widely assumed cross-linguistic prevalence, making the resource suitable not only for European Portuguese research but also for artificial-language learning and statistical-learning paradigms that build controlled streams from natural CV syllables.DiscussionRather than pursuing exhaustive phonetic-acoustic characterization, MSSP prioritizes features that enable principled stimulus screening, comparability across studies, and reproducible experimental design. This is particularly relevant for auditory neuroscience, where syllabic speech sounds are widely used in event-related potential paradigms to examine the neural dynamics of speech perception and segmentation with millisecond precision. MSSP is designed as a controlled experimental resource and may also be useful in clinical or technology-oriented contexts requiring controlled spoken sublexical stimuli.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2026.1868067</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2026.1868067</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Network signals as national proxies: an analytical demonstration of social signal amplification theory in Nigeria's pre-electoral context]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-07-17T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Hypothesis and Theory</category>
        <author>Ada Peter</author><author>Favour Egbogun</author><author>Rejoice Gberevbie</author>
        <description><![CDATA[How do young adults form beliefs about what most of their fellow citizens think? This paper develops and conducts an exploratory empirical test of Social Signal Amplification Theory (SSAT), which proposes that individuals in personalised digital communication environments systematically infer national public opinion from the political signals circulating within their own small, egocentric networks rather than from verifiable nationally representative data. SSAT synthesises and extends foundational accounts of the spiral of silence, filter bubble dynamics, and the third-person effect by specifying a mechanism, network-to-national projection, that these prior frameworks identify but do not formally theorise as a generalisable inference process. Drawing on a purposive sample of 53 politically active young Nigerian adults, the study tracked political content across WhatsApp groups and major social media platforms over five consecutive days during the pre-election debate about INEC's preparedness for the 2027 general elections, yielding 60 coded political signals. Participants subsequently completed a structured perception survey estimating national public opinion. The study's principal finding, a near-perfect alignment between participants' median perceived national support at 46% and a nationally representative benchmark of 45% INEC confidence, is consistent with, though not proof of, a calibration artefact produced by signal balance rather than genuine epistemic access to national data. Supporting this interpretation, a strong Spearman correlation (rₛ = .751, p < .001) was observed between participants' ratings of social circle support and their estimated national opinion percentages, consistent with the network-to-national projection mechanism. The paper treats these findings as hypothesis-generating rather than hypothesis-confirming.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2026.1848804</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2026.1848804</link>
        <title><![CDATA[It's something I've had to (un)learn: memorable family messages about the causes and treatments for mental illness]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-07-17T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>William Bennett Hoffman</author><author>Jessica Tuleassi</author><author>Hannah Martinez</author>
        <description><![CDATA[RationaleThis study employed the memorable messages framework to examine how family communication influences perceptions of mental illness causes and attitudes toward treatment.MethodsTwenty-four participants from the United States engaged in focus group interviews. Transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis to identify memorable family messages about the causes of mental illness and possible treatments for it.ResultsTwo themes addressed perceived causes of mental illness: trauma, portrayed as both intergenerational and individually experienced, and present living conditions, framed as either outside or within human control. Two further themes addressed treatment: professional treatment is helpful but sometimes difficult to obtain, and treatment is often ignored, discouraged, or treated as a private family matter.DiscussionOur findings reveal family communication may validate distress as well as encourage persistence in seeking care. It is also possible for family communication to reinforce stigma and hinder dialogue about symptoms. Our study emphasizes the necessity of families to reduce minimization, validate mental health concerns, and support access to valid treatment options.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2026.1839439</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2026.1839439</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Understanding user stickiness to WeChat official accounts: a cognition-affect-conation perspective]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-07-17T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Juan Shi</author>
        <description><![CDATA[IntroductionAlgorithm-driven public platforms (e.g., TikTok) employ personalized recommendation, infinite scrolling, and ever-evolving short videos to foster user stickiness, whereas WeChat official accounts (WOAs) place greater emphasis on subscription-based follower relationships. However, existing studies have mainly focused on experiential, post-adoption evaluative, and relational antecedents of stickiness, with limited attention devoted to how platform-specific engagement mechanisms shape its formation. Drawing on parasocial relationship theory and the cognition-affect-conation (CAC) framework, this study proposes a three-stage model to explain how user stickiness to WOAs is formed.MethodsA cross-sectional survey was administered on Wen Juan Xing, a leading Chinese online survey platform. We obtained an initial sample of 536 Chinese users aged 18 and above, all of whom followed a WeChat official account. After excluding incomplete responses, careless or insufficient-effort respondents, the final sample comprised 361 valid users. The constructs were measured using validated multi-item scales adapted from prior studies, we tested the proposed model via structural equation modeling (SEM).ResultsThe results indicate that perceived information quality and social interaction significantly enhance satisfaction and trust, which subsequently strengthen commitment and user stickiness. Commitment emerges as the strongest predictor of stickiness, and the combined effects of relational factors (trust and commitment) are substantially stronger than those of transactional factors (satisfaction). Furthermore, social interaction exerts a greater influence on affective responses than perceived information quality. Multi-group analysis reveals that the positive effect of social interaction on satisfaction was significantly stronger among male users.DiscussionThis study contributes to the literature in three ways. First, it highlights the importance of platform-specific engagement mechanisms in understanding user stickiness across different social media environments. Second, it explains how repeated exposure and ongoing creator-follower interaction gradually evolve into relational commitment and stickiness. Third, the findings suggest that user satisfaction alone is insufficient to sustain stickiness on subscription-based platforms; instead, durable relational bonds between followers and creators play a critical role.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2026.1850147</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2026.1850147</link>
        <title><![CDATA[When participation becomes ritual: culture, communication, and village governance in Indonesia]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-07-17T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Brief Research Report</category>
        <author>R. Siti Zuhro</author><author>Nyimas Latifah Letty Aziz</author><author>Badrun Susantyo</author><author>Syahrir Ika</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Indonesia's Village Fund program, introduced under Law No. 6/2014, was designed to strengthen rural development and participatory governance through fiscal decentralisation. However, its outcomes remain highly uneven across villages. This article examines how cultural norms and communication practices shape these divergent governance outcomes. Using a qualitative comparative case-study design, the study compares two village cases: a bad-practice case in Sidoarjo and a best-practice case in Majalengka. The analysis investigates how village deliberation, leadership, administrative routines, and social accountability interact in the implementation of the Village Fund. The findings show that formal participatory mechanisms, particularly Musyawarah Desa, can function less as genuine deliberative spaces than as ritualised communication arenas where decisions are legitimised rather than openly contested. In the Sidoarjo case, elite-driven agenda setting, paternalistic leadership, and weak social accountability constrained meaningful public voice. By contrast, the Majalengka case showed how stronger administrative routines, more facilitative leadership, and more credible social oversight can support more substantive participation. The study introduces the distinction between “governable” and “ungovernable” village administrations to explain how institutional capacity, cultural habitus, and communicative practices mediate the effects of decentralisation. By reframing decentralisation as a cultural and communicative process rather than solely an administrative reform, this article contributes to debates in culture and communication on participation, legitimacy, and power in local governance. It argues that fiscal transfers alone cannot produce accountable development without institutional strengthening, communicative inclusion, and sensitivity to local cultural structures. Reform sequencing, therefore, remains essential to turning formal participation into substantive democratic practice.]]></description>
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        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2026.1869397</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2026.1869397</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Visual grammar, social semiotics, and cultural myth in Yi-brand advertising: a multimodal discourse analysis]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-07-15T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Miao Xu</author><author>Mohd. Nor Shahizan Ali</author><author>Mus Chairil Samani</author><author>Yue Zhang</author>
        <description><![CDATA[IntroductionThis study examines how Yi ethnic brand advertisements construct cultural significance through multimodal visual design.MethodsDrawing on Kress and van Leeuwen's visual grammar, social semiotics, and Barthes' denotation-connotation-myth framework, the study analyzes 120 Yi-brand advertisements collected from tourism promotion materials, product packaging and print advertisements, and digital platforms between 2020 and 2024. Multimodal discourse analysis and descriptive frequency coding were used to connect microlevel visual choices with macrolevel cultural meanings.ResultsThe findings show that Yi-brand advertising relies mainly on narrative and conceptual representations to present Yi culture as both living heritage and consumable authenticity. Traditional costume and ethnic patterns are the most frequent visual resources, while red, black, and yellow operate as condensed semiotic carriers of fire worship, earth reverence, protection, vitality, and sacredness. Interactive and compositional resources position Yi culture as approachable, visually attractive, and commercially legible.DiscussionThe study demonstrates that multimodal resources transform situated Yi cultural signs into marketable cultural myths. It highlights both the communicative value and the potential simplification of ethnic heritage in brand advertising.]]></description>
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