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Difference between revisions of "Vertical Crowdsourcing (Russia)"
Vertical Crowdsourcing (Russia) (view source)
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|style="font-size:1.1em;"| ‘Vertical crowdsourcing’ refers to the ways in which digital technologies can be harnessed by state institutions to create a semblance of openness and participation, while in | |style="font-size:1.1em;"| ‘Vertical crowdsourcing’ refers to the ways in which digital technologies can be harnessed by state institutions to create a semblance of openness and participation, while in practice neutralising citizens’ activity and exerting control over them. ‘Crowdsourcing’ in its regular sense refers to ‘the practice of obtaining information or services by soliciting input from a large number of people, typically via the Internet and often without offering compensation’<ref>Oxford English Dictionary. 2016. Entry on ‘crowdsourcing’ (Oxford: Oxford University Press)</ref>. In ‘vertical crowdsourcing’, state authorities solicit such participation in order to fake or control it. | ||
practice neutralising citizens’ activity and exerting control over them. ‘Crowdsourcing’ in its regular sense refers to ‘the practice of obtaining information or services by soliciting input | |||
from a large number of people, typically via the Internet and often without offering compensation’<ref>Oxford English Dictionary. 2016. Entry on ‘crowdsourcing’ (Oxford: Oxford University | |||
Press)</ref>. In ‘vertical crowdsourcing’, state authorities solicit such participation in order to fake or control it. | |||
|} | |} | ||
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website should lead to action taken by the authorities to resolve the problem. However, such | website should lead to action taken by the authorities to resolve the problem. However, such | ||
websites can serve as tools that satisfy citizens’ need to complain easily, but with no | websites can serve as tools that satisfy citizens’ need to complain easily, but with no | ||
consequent action taken by the authorities – or even worse, the faking of action taken. | consequent action taken by the authorities – or even worse, the faking of action taken. For | ||
For | |||
example, following the submission of photo of a courtyard blocked by snow to a website run | example, following the submission of photo of a courtyard blocked by snow to a website run | ||
by the Moscow Mayor's Office, a local official reported that the problem was solved by | by the Moscow Mayor's Office, a local official reported that the problem was solved by | ||
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construction of transparency that supported the legitimacy of the elections<ref name="asmo />. | construction of transparency that supported the legitimacy of the elections<ref name="asmo />. | ||
While in theory the webcams enabled public scrutiny of electoral conduct to be | While in theory the webcams enabled public scrutiny of electoral conduct to be | ||
crowdsourced, in practice they obstructed it. | crowdsourced, in practice they obstructed it. Crucially, the platform did not allow any action | ||
Crucially, the platform did not allow any action | |||
to be taken once a fraud was detected. It was difficult to retrieve data from the video archive, | to be taken once a fraud was detected. It was difficult to retrieve data from the video archive, | ||
and the courts that considered cases of election fraud did not have a legal foundation to | and the courts that considered cases of election fraud did not have a legal foundation to | ||
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Another set of digital tools portray citizens’ participation as a horizontal, bottom-up | Another set of digital tools portray citizens’ participation as a horizontal, bottom-up | ||
action (i.e. regular crowdsourcing), whereas in reality they are controlled and directed from | action (i.e. regular crowdsourcing), whereas in reality they are controlled and directed from | ||
above (i.e. vertical crowdsourcing). In 2014 the Moscow Mayor's Office introduced a website | above (i.e. vertical crowdsourcing). | ||
In 2014 the Moscow Mayor's Office introduced a website | |||
called ‘Active Citizen’ (http://ag.mos.ru) with the ostensible purpose of allowing Moscow | called ‘Active Citizen’ (http://ag.mos.ru) with the ostensible purpose of allowing Moscow | ||
residents greater participation in decision-making. | residents greater participation in decision-making. But independent experts questioned if the | ||
But independent experts questioned if the | |||
website contributes to participation, with some<ref>Babitzky, A. 2015 Aktivnye grazhdane skladirovany na serverah merii, Vedomosti, 23 | website contributes to participation, with some<ref>Babitzky, A. 2015 Aktivnye grazhdane skladirovany na serverah merii, Vedomosti, 23 | ||
October, http://www.vedomosti.ru/opinion/columns/2015/10/23/614024-aktivnie-grazhdane- | October, http://www.vedomosti.ru/opinion/columns/2015/10/23/614024-aktivnie-grazhdane- | ||
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legitimisation of decisions already made by local authorities, while the actual mechanism of | legitimisation of decisions already made by local authorities, while the actual mechanism of | ||
participation including online voting is not transparent and is open to manipulation. | participation including online voting is not transparent and is open to manipulation. | ||
An online media investigation exposed falsification of online decisions, while an opposition local | |||
An | |||
online media investigation exposed falsification of online decisions, while an opposition local | |||
council member claimed that, ‘Active Citizen is used by the mayor’s office for imitation of | council member claimed that, ‘Active Citizen is used by the mayor’s office for imitation of | ||
citizens’ participation in decision-making by authorities’<ref>Mazhay, K. and Chesnokov, I. 2015. ‘Fiktivnyi Grazhdanin’, Yod, 2 June, | citizens’ participation in decision-making by authorities’<ref>Mazhay, K. and Chesnokov, I. 2015. ‘Fiktivnyi Grazhdanin’, Yod, 2 June, | ||
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not allow to the users to select their form of participation. What it actually created was a | not allow to the users to select their form of participation. What it actually created was a | ||
registry of potential volunteers that was controlled by the owners of the platform. | registry of potential volunteers that was controlled by the owners of the platform. | ||
Accordingly, while the official purpose of the platform was supporting citizen engagement in | Accordingly, while the official purpose of the platform was supporting citizen engagement in | ||
emergency response, its actual purpose was controlling the potential independent volunteers | emergency response, its actual purpose was controlling the potential independent volunteers | ||