This paper is interdisciplinary and combines the research perspective of medical studies with that of media and social communication studies and theological studies. The main goal of this article is to determine [from arguments on all sides of the issue] whether, and to what extent, statements issued by a religious authority can be used as an argument in the COVID-19 vaccination campaign. The authors also want to find answers to the questions of how the pope’s comments affect public opinion when they concern the sphere of secular and everyday life, including issues related to health care. The main method used in this study is desktop research and the analysis of the Roman Catholic Church’s teaching on vaccination and on the types and significance of the pope’s statements on various topics. The auxiliary methods are sentiment analysis and network analysis made in the open source software Gephi. The authors are strongly interested in the communication and media aspect of the analyzed situation. Pope Francis’ voice on the COVID-19 vaccination has certainly been noticed and registered worldwide, but the effectiveness of his message and direct impact on Catholics’ decisions to accept or refuse the COVID-19 vaccination is quite questionable and would require further precise research. Comparing this to the regularities known from political marketing, one would think that the pope’s statement would not convince the firm opponents of vaccination.

While social media platforms afford visibility to marginalized voices and enable dissemination of alternative narratives, their own “power laws” can make few users responsible for most of the attention. New power users can redirect discussion away from those who initiate a conversation. The aim of this study is to examine relations between the network “gatekeepers” and “gatewatchers” following the announcement of the Days of Judaism celebrated by the Polish Episcopate every January. Two methodological approaches were taken over two consecutive years: social network analysis (SNA), and linguistic analysis of social media discourse. The linguistic analysis confirmed importance of classical rhetoric effects on Twitter. The social network analysis revealed that a balanced, personal statement given by users with high network standing outside of the Twittersphere can ignite constructive dialogue in the spirit of the inter-religious exchange that the idea behind Days of Judaism stands for. Our conclusion is that a careful social media policy of the Church, a controlled engagement in the public conversation, possibly by lay sympathizers of high standing in the real public life, have the potential for dispensing with the infamous toxicity of Twitter, and for turning conversation on any topic, even the most controversial, into positive exchange within the community of believers.

Książka Elżbiety Winieckiej Poszerzanie pola literackiego. Studia o literackości w internecie stanowi ważne podsumowanie teorii i praktyki ostatnich dwóch dekad rozwoju literatury polskiej w przestrzeni cyfrowej oraz przekonującą próbę wprowadzenia tych doświadczeń w pole dyskusji nad literaturą w ogóle. To zadanie autorka wykonuje wzorowo, niosąc literaturoznawcom dobrą wiadomość: cyfrowy świat przynosi im bowiem nowe zadania i nowe obszary badań. W recenzji zwraca się także uwagę na edukacyjny charakter publikacji oraz ciekawą propozycję poszerzenia samego pola literatury elektronicznej o zjawiska rzadziej omawiane (aktywizm, literackie platformy społecznościowe) oraz o formy niecyfrowe, ale odnoszące się do społeczno-kulturowych efektów cyfrowej kultury i komunikacji.