International Journal of Communication Publishes a Forum on Oops? Interdisciplinary Stories of Sociotechnical Error

What can we learn about people and technology through interdisciplinary stories of sociotechnical errors, failures, breakdowns, and mistakes? 

Guest edited by Mike Ananny and Simogne Hudson, the Forum on Oops? Interdisciplinary Stories of Sociotechnical Error takes up the question through a playful and provocative mix of projects that show how sociotechnical errors happen, why they matter, and what they reveal about people, technology, and power. Amidst so many complex collisions among people, data, engineering, and media—and in an age when technological “innovation” is widely celebrated and inescapable—these articles offer changes to pause and ask what system failures show about how people and machines intersect and vie for power.

Including scholars from communication, media studies, urban planning, critical data studies, and science and technology studies, the collection of essays invites readers to see failures anew—to consider errors, breakdowns, and mistakes from a different perspective, method, or normative stake. Use these essays to start conversations about what “error” means in your work or community, and why it matters.

We invite you to read these articles that published in the International Journal of Communication on April 23, 2025. Please log into ijoc.org to read the papers of interest. We look forward to your feedback!
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Oops? Sociotechnical Errors as Interdisciplinary Stories of Complex Relations, Shared Consequences, and Resilient Hopes—Introduction
Mike Ananny, Simogne Hudson

Uncertainty as Spectacle: Real-Time Algorithmic Techniques on the Live Music Stage
Stephen Yang

When Faulty AI Falls Into the Wrong Hands: The Risks of Erroneous AI-Driven Healthcare Decisions 
Eugene Jang

Fake It Till You Make It: Synthetic Data and Algorithmic Bias
Sook-Lin Toh, Jiwon Park

Discourses of Sociotechnical Error and Accuracy in U.S. and PRC News Media: The Case of the 1999 Bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade
Max Berwald

Affective Experiences of Error 
Megan Finn, Youngrim Kim, Ryan Ellis, Amelia Acker, Bidisha Chaudhuri, Stacey Wedlake

Peeling Back the Layers of “Paint on Rotten Wood”: Unraveling the Senate’s “Big Tech and Child Sexual Exploitation Crisis” Hearing
Kyooeun Jang

Kicking Error Out of the Game: Video Assistant Referee as Technosolutionism
Pratik Nyaupane, Alejandro Alvarado Rojas

When User Consent Fails: How Platforms Undermine Data Governance
Rohan Grover

Ephemeral Platforms, Enduring Memories: Errors and Digital Afterlife
Sui Wang

:Chatting: Errors in Live Streamer Discord Servers
Kirsten Crowe

Hole in the (Pay)Wall: Monetized Access, Content Leaks, and Community Responsibility
Celeste Oon

Edges, Seams, and Ecotones: Error in Interstate Landscapes
Cindy Lin, Steve J. Jackson

Quantifying Housing Need in California: The Erroneous Practice of Evidence-Based Policy
Elana R. Simon

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Silvio Waisbord, Editor 
Kady Bell-Garcia, Managing Editor
Chi Zhang, Managing Editor, Special Sections
Andrew Taylor, Webmaster
Mike Ananny, Simogne Hudson, Guest Editors

 
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