Communication hijacking: strategic communication gone dark

作者：Miriam Hautala, Vilma Luoma‐aho, Jason C. Brown · 发表于：Journal of Communication Management · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1108/jcom-09-2024-0171 · 被引用次数：3 · 研究领域：Public Relations and Crisis Communication、Misinformation and Its Impacts、Media Studies and Communication

Purpose As the polarized information environment and technological advancements, such as artificial intelligence, enable the creation and spread of malicious content online, strategic communication can be misused in unpredictable ways. This paper addresses an emerging, urgent challenge to organizational legitimacy by analyzing the phenomenon of communication hijacking as a technique of dark strategic communication and providing three illustrative examples of severe communication hijacking in Finland. Design/methodology/approach Through a thematic review of the literature on communication hijacking and related concepts, we show which conditions must be met for it to occur. The theoretical findings are tested through expert interviews and three illustrative examples. Findings We propose that there are three necessary conditions for communication hijacking to occur: the takeover is involuntary on the part of the organization, it co-opts an existing communicative element, and it changes this element to contradict its original purpose. The more serious each of these factors, the stronger the hijacking. We summarize these factors in the communication hijacking triad model. Research limitations/implications As the study constructs a new concept, the keywords utilized could have left out some important related theories. Second, illustrative examples represent only one cultural context of Finland. Practical implications The communication hijacking triad serves as a starting point for ...