In the chapter, part of the second edition of The Routledge Companion to Social Media and Politics, Wijermars & Lokot develop their platform actorness framework and use it to examine the emergence of Telegram as both a platform for political communication and action and a political actor in its own right. They contribute to the debate on platform politics and demonstrate the broader importance of extending analysis beyond the affordances of platforms and associated user practices and content to also include the claims, performances, and practices of platforms in the context of civic and political activity.

The chapter is open-access and can be read and downloaded here.