Abstract
The expansion of the platform economy has captured considerable media attention, yet the representation of platform workers in the media, particularly migrant workers, remains under-researched. This article investigates the media representation of migrant platform workers in Norway by analyzing 245 newspaper articles and 23 in-depth interviews with migrant food couriers. This article introduces the term ‘representational segregation’ to demonstrate how media representation of platform workers, characterized by hostile narratives, fluctuating media visibility, and exclusion of migrants’ voices, can contribute to the segregation between local society and migrant workers. Furthermore, migrant workers themselves engage in a form of segregation practice, characterized by their indifference to media, imagined negative representation, and intentional distancing from the media spotlight. This mutual representational segregation is rooted in the ostensibly egalitarian Nordic welfare system and exploitative tendencies within platform capitalism targeting racialized populations. This article enriches research on platformized racial capitalism through a Nordic lens.
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