Proxy Figures and Semantic Swarms: A Two-Phase Digital Ethnography of Attention Convergence During Geopolitical Stress

This deposit contains a formal academic paper and an accompanying dataset of 21 ethnographic image specimens documenting a two-phase attention convergence phenomenon on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter). The study analyzes how a highly visible political streamer became a stabilized symbolic proxy through which broader geopolitical anxieties, moral positioning, authenticity audits, and identity enforcement were negotiated during a period of global stress. Rather than evaluating the truth or falsity of claims made about any individual, the research focuses on how meaning, attention, and narrative roles evolve under conditions of uncertainty. The dataset consists of timestamped screenshots captured in situ via keyword-anchored sampling and is organized into two analytical phases: Phase I (Batch A): Immediate semantic convergence following geopolitical shocks Phase II (Batch B): Narrative crystallization, identity fixation, and normalization of symbolic hostility A supplemental single-image ethnograph illustrates the emergence of authenticity audits and audience-legitimacy contests within ideologically adjacent actors. This work contributes to digital ethnography and platform studies by demonstrating how social media systems transform individuals into proxy figures that absorb collective anxiety, enabling rapid moral simplification during periods of institutional and geopolitical instability.