Repackaging and Repurposing Digital Objects

A Conceptual Model to Understand the Malleability of Politics in Digital Environments

Bibliographic Data

ID21837535
AuthorsMax Halupka (0000-0001-9888-6871, University of Canberra, corresponding author), Jeremiah Thomas Brown (0000-0002-1899-2541, The University of Melbourne)
Year2025
Volume17
Issue2
Publication date2025-06-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePolicy & Internet (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1944-2866 • E-ISSN: 1944-2866
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/poi3.430
OpenAlexW4405455948
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited24

With the transition to digital environments, there are new dynamics and practices which need to be understood. In contrast to analogue objects, digital objects and online engagements exist in semi‐fixed digital environments which are subject to change, despite time. This makes digital objects different from analogue objects, as they are more malleable, and subject to having their meaning changed, especially with respect to politics. This paper presents repackaged and repurposed intention as two new practices which leverage the malleability of digital objects in relation to the scene in which they occur. Together, repackaged and repurposed intention provide a scaffold for understanding the way politics, playing out in digital spaces, no longer relies on author intentionality to define the meaning or purpose of their engagements. Our paper explores the potential to shift the meaning of digital objects through two illustrative cases and, in doing so, highlights how the potential to change the meaning of digital objects has important political implications

Ciphertext · Computer security · Malleability · Political science · Politics · Repurposing · Computer Science · Digital Games and Media · Engineering · Media Studies and Communication · Social Media and Politics

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