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The Role of Information Visibility in Network Gatekeeping: Information Aggregation on Reddit during Crisis Events

Authors:

John J. RobinsonAuthors Info & Claims

CSCW '17: Proceedings of the 2017 ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing

Pages 1246 - 1261

https://doi.org/10.1145/2998181.2998299

Published: 25 February 2017 Publication History

Abstract

As social media platforms witness more and more contributions from participants during developing crisis events, some platforms provide affordances that support visibility for specific pieces of information. However, the design of information visibility, especially in the context of controlling information flows (through gatekeeping), may shape how participants collect and share up-to-date information in these systems. This paper looks at the field site of reddit.com through trace ethnography methods to understand how the design of reddit's platform (from algorithms to user roles) impacts the visibility of information and subsequently how participants aggregate information in response to ongoing events. Through trace ethnographic analysis, we illustrate three themes related to tensions around visibility - behavioral, structural, and relational - and show how visibility shapes the work of producing information about crises in social news sites.

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Cited By

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Index Terms

The Role of Information Visibility in Network Gatekeeping: Information Aggregation on Reddit during Crisis Events
1. Human-centered computing
  1. Collaborative and social computing

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cover image ACM Conferences

CSCW '17: Proceedings of the 2017 ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing

February 2017

2556 pages

ISBN:9781450343350

DOI:10.1145/2998181

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Charlotte P. Lee
University of Washington
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Stockholm University and Cornell Tech
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Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro
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IBM T.J. Watson Research Center

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Published: 25 February 2017

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CSCW '17 Paper Acceptance Rate 183 of 530 submissions, 35%;

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Cited By

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https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3660337
Seredko AHillman T(2024)What Does a Downvote Do? Performing Complementary and Competing Knowledge Practices on an Online PlatformProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/36536928:CSCW1(1-28)Online publication date: 26-Apr-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3653692
He CHe LYang WLi B(2024)Images Connect Us Together: Navigating a COVID-19 Local Outbreak in China Through Social Media ImagesProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/36373498:CSCW1(1-32)Online publication date: 26-Apr-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3637349
Schmüser JSri Ramulu HWöhler NStransky CBensmann FDimitrov DSchellhammer SWermke DDietze SAcar YFahl S(2024)Analyzing Security and Privacy Advice During the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine on TwitterProceedings of the 2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3613904.3642826(1-16)Online publication date: 11-May-2024
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Moriarty DMehlenbacher A(2023)Reddit and Engaged Science Communication Online: An Examination of Reddit’s R/Science Ask-Me-Anythings and Science Discussion SeriesTechnical Communication Quarterly10.1080/10572252.2023.219467633:1(54-70)Online publication date: 30-Mar-2023
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