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The Meaning of Circulating Visualisations related to a Policy Controversy1055them, the online environment is a central medium (Cacciatore et al., 2012; Hopke & Simis, 2017).The research question addressed here is: What meanings, given the visual and its accompanying text, are carried by circulating visualisations about nanotechnology in food, does the meaning change when these visualisations circulate, and, if so, how? To answer the research question, we formulated two research sub-questions. The first sub-question (RSQ1) is: What visualisations about nanotechnology in food circulate on Twitter, with what textual tone, and as part of what storyline? Twitter is suitable for the investigation of circulating visualisations in the context of nanotechnology in food as it is an important source for studying views about emerging technologies in the agri-food sector (Tabei et al., 2020; Waller & Gugganig, 2021). However, to expand our inquiry beyond the boundaries of the nanotechnology-in-food context, we turn to the open Web. The second subquestion (RSQ2) is: Which of the visualisations revealed through RSQ1 circulate frequently on the open Web, in what context, with what textual tone, and as part of what nanotechnology-in-food storyline (if at all)? Answering RSQ2 enables us to reveal more meanings assigned to circulating visualisations and changes in meanings.5.2 Conceptual framework5.2.1 Circulating definitionRose (2016) recognizes the circulating of a visualisation as one of four sites where the meaning of a visualisation is made. For Rose, circulating is the site where a digital visualisation passes from one place to another (e.g., from the TV screen to a mobile phone screen). Unlike Rose, van Beek et al. (2020) consider only two sites where the meaning of a visualisation is made: production and circulation. For van Beek et al., the other two sites that Rose (2016) recognizes – the image itself and audiencing – are elements inherently involved in both the production and the circulation of a visualisation. Like van Beek et al., we see circulation as involving audiencing: during a visualisation’s circulation, audiences already interact with it – they perceive, interpret, use, and republish it (Van Beek et al., 2020, p. 499). We, however, aim to reveal changes in meaning that result from the circulation process itself rather than visual modifications made during the process. Hence, we focus Efrat.indd 105 19-09-2023 09:47