This study explores the evolving relationship between technology and humans within the framework of Actor-Network Theory (ANT), focusing on how the rise of the network society has redefined cultural values through the logic of transparency. As data-driven infrastructures increasingly mediate social life, transparency emerges not only as a technical condition but also as a pervasive cultural discourse. By integrating ANT with Foucauldian discourse analysis, and adopting a critical ethnographic approach, this research aims to uncover how digital technologies function as non-human actors that co-construct meaning within sociotechnical networks. Rather than treating transparency as a neutral value, the study examines it as an ideological force embedded in contemporary design, media, and spatial practices. Through interdisciplinary case analyses, ranging from wearable devices and automotive interfaces to media artworks and cinematic representations, the research reveals how transparency manifests itself in varied forms: as bodily self-objectification, interface abstraction, aesthetic spectacle, and even social isolation. These artifacts are not passive reflections of culture but active mediators that shape perception, behaviour, and power dynamics. The findings demonstrate that in the network society, the ideal of visibility paradoxically leads to alienation, self-surveillance, and semantic impoverishment. ANT provides the analytical lens to frame these artifacts as dynamic actors, while Foucault’s theory of discourse helps trace how power operates invisibly through transparency. Together, these frameworks allow for a nuanced understanding of the cultural implications of technology in contemporary society. Ultimately, the study positions transparency as a performative and ideological construct rather than a mere by-product of technological advancement. It argues that understanding the aesthetic, spatial, and ethical consequences of this logic is essential for rethinking design, architecture, and cultural production in the digital age.

KEY WORDS:

Actor-Network Theory, culture, network society, technology, transparency

DOI: https://doi.org/10.34135/communicationtoday.2026.Vol.17.No.1.4

This study addresses the critical role of communication in implementing the ISO 9001:2015 standard within socio-economic systems, where complexity and dynamism make information exchange a decisive success factor. The research aims to develop a systematic approach for analysing and optimising communication processes in quality management systems (QMS). The methodology is based on systems analysis and graph theory, representing QMS elements as vertices and their interactions as edges. This formalisation enables the identification of weak links, isolated or overloaded components, and critical communication nodes. Key indicators such as connectivity, rank, articulation points, and survivability were applied to evaluate system robustness, particularly at the design stage, where errors are most costly. The results demonstrate that graph-based modelling facilitates early risk detection, supports structural optimisation, and strengthens communication flows. The findings highlight the novelty of integrating qualitative management principles with quantitative graph analysis, offering organisations a proactive tool to enhance adaptability, reliability, and compliance with ISO 9001:2015.

KEY WORDS:

communication networks, digital communication, internal and external communication, ISO 9001:2015, organisational communication, organisational adaptability, quality management, socio-economic systems, strategic communication, transparency and trust.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.34135/communicationtoday.2026.Vol.17.No.1.3

This study examines the causes of the polarisation of society in Slovakia and identifies weak public trust in the media as one of the main factors. The authors argue that the failure of the media to report objectively and truthfully stems from the lack of epistemological training of journalists, which leads to ethical lapses such as the prioritisation of ideological, political, or economic interests. The main aim of this study is to clarify the epistemological and ethical conditions that influence the process of journalistic reporting in Slovakia. Using a hermeneutic-semiotic method, a deeper and more coherent understanding of these principles is achieved. The text emphasises the need to develop epistemological competences of journalists, which include the ability to comprehensively understand social phenomena, the limits of language and the relationship between fact and interpretation. Equally important is the moral integrity of journalists and their resilience to external political and economic influences. The authors conclude that improving the epistemological and ethical levels of journalists can contribute to mitigating the polarisation of society, but this process requires the prioritisation of education, which is a long-term and difficult task.

KEY WORDS:

epistemology, ethics, journalism, moral integrity, polarisation

DOI: https://doi.org/10.34135/communicationtoday.2026.Vol.17.No.1.2

The inability of established democratic institutions to offer adequate and effective solutions to accumulated crises has created fertile ground for the rise of populism, which is transforming liberal democracy into an illiberal order that we can term populistocracy. In imperfect democracies, it is correct to diagnose the phenomenon of unfulfilled and dysfunctional liberal democracy, including an analysis of the factors contributing to this state of affairs. Key empirical findings reveal an asymmetry in citizens’ commitment to democratic principles: while citizens remain firmly committed to the electoral pillar (free elections), their support for key liberal pillars – such as judicial independence, media freedom, and horizontal accountability – is surprisingly elastic (Ferrer et al., 2025). Quantifying this phenomenon through Willingness to Pay (WTP) shows that citizens are willing to give up individual liberal principles for a relatively small increase in income, which legitimises the gradual weakening of democracy – creeping authoritarianism (Diamond, 2020). Empirical findings support the authors’ thesis that we are witnessing a transition from politics based on universal values and rational argumentation to semantic politics, where rhetoric, emotions, and symbolic gestures replace rationality. This transformation of the political paradigm is not a random development, but the result of a deep crisis caused by a set of interrelated factors – economic uncertainty, structural inequalities, a crisis of trust in institutions, and the sophisticated use of disinformation in the digital age.

KEY WORDS:

creeping authoritarianism, liberal democracy, populism, populistocracy, price elasticity, semantic politics, Willingness to Pay

DOI: https://doi.org/10.34135/communicationtoday.2026.Vol.17.No.1.1

The study presents a theoretical analysis of media linguistics as an interactional and transdisciplinary field of applied linguistics that reflects the complex linguistic, social, cultural, and technological contexts of media communication. It focuses on the systematic delineation of theoretical backgrounds, methodological frameworks, and current research directions, while emphasising the importance of analysing media language as part of multimodal, interactive, and technologically mediated media products. Special attention is paid to ecological and forensic media linguistics, digital language variability, media conflict studies, as well as broader social and cultural aspects of media communication. The results of the study point to the necessity of a transdisciplinary approach in exploring the linguistic, discursive, and multimodal mechanisms of meaning formation in the contemporary media environment.

KEY WORDS:

audience, effect, interactions, media discourse, media linguistics, media product, multimodality, transdisciplinarity

DOI: https://doi.org/10.34135/communicationtoday.2025.Vol.16.No.2.2

This study has two primary objectives: first, to identify which elements of manipulatively anchored deepfake videos on YouTube contribute to their potential for virality, and second, to examine how social media channels facilitate the erosion of rational perception in the consumption of media content. Using Jakobson’s communication model, we identify the basic communication elements associated with a specific deepfake video of a manipulative nature. The analysis revealed that the video aligns with a broader framework of stereotypes, media representation, and political discourse. We place the results in the context of media exposure, the fragmentary and instant consumption of media content, as well as within the specific space of perception of visuality and visual communications in the current media environment. Results show that the articulation of context plays a crucial role in interpreting a deepfake communication, underscoring the limitations of current mechanisms for labelling manipulated content on the YouTube platform.

KEY WORDS:

deepfake video, disinformation, digital virulence, social media, YouTube

DOI: https://doi.org/10.34135/communicationtoday.2025.Vol.16.No.2.1

The objective of this study is to identify and describe the main milestones in the development of artificial intelligence in the form of a chronological overview of its historical development. This study also seeks to present an argument that challenges the stereotypically and uncritically accepted thesis that draws no distinction between the concepts of development and advancement as they apply to artificial intelligence. Development is a mechanism following a process of leaps forward, without a goal, without criteria based on values or morals. Progress is an ambivalent phenomenon, the practical outcome and result of a specific developmental phase of interacting social, technological, economic, and cultural factors. A historical understanding of the context that gave rise to the development of key concepts of artificial intelligence technologies is the foundation for further possible scientific analysis and qualified predictions of the transformation of society. The phenomenon of artificial intelligence is distinctive for its ambivalent nature. On one hand, it contributes to the prosperity of society, increases efficiency, accelerates performance, and makes a range of human activities easier and more precise. On the other hand, artificial intelligence generates unseen social risks, transforms the function of cultural patterns, and breaks social norms, raising philosophical, ethical, moral, and legislative questions. This review study can serve as a starting point for further study and research analyses to identify the main trends in the technological development of artificial intelligence in the context of questions of advancement in social, cultural, political, economic, ethical, or legislative transformations of society.

KEY WORDS:

advancement, ambivalence, artificial intelligence, chronological overview, development, risks

DOI: https://doi.org/10.34135/communicationtoday.2025.Vol.16.No.1.4

The study focuses on the analysis of the constitutional and legal limits of the exercise of freedom of speech. This freedom forms one of the pillars of a democratic and legal state. However, the Constitution of the Slovak Republic and the Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms allow for its legitimate limitations. The authors therefore examine the limits of restrictions on freedom of expression under the conditions of Slovak legislation. The role of independence and autonomy of media are also emphasised, and a specific case demonstrates the interaction between the personality protection of a public figure and freedom of expression.

KEY WORDS:

Constitution of the Slovak Republic, Convention, freedom of speech, proportionality, right to personality protection

DOI: https://doi.org/10.34135/communicationtoday.2025.Vol.16.No.1.6

The film genre called biographical drama (abbreviated as biopic) focuses on depicting the unique fates and professional achievements or failures of public figures, including popular figures in the music industry. Given the long-term success of these film narratives, there is a need to explore biographical audiovisual narratives about musicians of the past and present. The main aim of the study, therefore, is to elucidate the conventional genre patterns and iconography of the film genre of biographical drama in the form of a critical reflection on feature films, contemporary biopics from the music industry that resonate in the world of cinema. To fulfil the stated aim, the first step is to explain key concepts and processes closely related to the issue at hand. In a follow-up case study, we explain the ways in which the music industry collaborates with the film industry in the application of qualitative content (narrative) analysis of selected research materials. We work on the assumption that biographical dramas about music personalities have the potential to create financially and audience successful media content, reaching relatively high qualitative levels, despite their generally low reputation by the professional public. This assumption opens up a debate about ways of working with the relevant genre iconography. We are also interested in answering the question of how and whether the meaning of the presented facts changes to dramatize the plot, and to what extent the examined film narratives referring to real life stories of selected persons fulfil their informative-educational character. In fact, we believe that the representation of reality in the media reality (represented by audiovisual images of the described genre) is modified to a certain extent. For this reason, we consider it necessary to approach the interpretation of cinematic works in a critical manner.

KEY WORDS:

biographical drama, biopic, film genre, film industry, film narrative, genre iconography, informative-educational function of biopics, media audiences, media (film) education, music industry, media reality

DOI: https://doi.org/10.34135/communicationtoday.2025.Vol.16.No.1.1

The digital transformation of the media industry brings new challenges and opportunities, with AI becoming an integral part of the creative, analytical and distribution processes. This article explores how AI is shaping the media industry, particularly in the context of supporting creative work, automation and personalisation of content, as well as precision targeting in marketing and political communications. It analyses the historical development of AI in media, its current applications and trends, focusing on cases where AI is complementing human creativity rather than replacing it. Particular attention is paid to the analytical use of AI in the media, to the personalisation of content, automation of news reporting, and to the use of AI in marketing strategies. The article also discusses ethical and legal issues, in particular the issue of trustworthiness of AI-generated content, regulation of misinformation, and copyright protection. Methodologically, the article uses the method of qualitative synthesis and brief case studies in order to describe specific applications of AI in various segments of media production and distribution. The article also provides predictions for the future development of AI in media, respecting the highly dynamic nature of this technology, which naturally implies that certain findings may already be partially surpassed by the time of the publication of the study.

KEY WORDS:

AI analytics, artificial intelligence, content personalisation, ethics, media automation, media industry

DOI: https://doi.org/10.34135/communicationtoday.2025.Vol.16.No.1.5