Some assembly required: Unpacking the content and spread of Wayfair conspiracy theory on Reddit and Twitter

Abstract

Wayfair, an American furniture and home goods retailer, garnered sudden attention across social media in 2020, particularly Twitter and Reddit, due to a conspiracy theory linking the company to child trafficking. The short-lived, well-delineated nature of this theory, coupled with its simultaneous emergence across multiple platforms, makes it a distinct case for studying the dynamics of online conspiracy development and spread. Using intermedia agenda-setting theory and computational approaches, we analyzed 1.2 million posts to explore cross-platform interactions. We examined how platform affordances shaped discourse and enabled the conspiracy’s dissemination. Reddit’s anonymity and detailed discussions sustained narratives, while Twitter amplified emotional content and broadened the audience. Hourly time-series analysis reveals a bidirectional influence: Reddit set thematic agendas that Twitter amplified, while Twitter’s emotional content shaped Reddit’s discussions. These findings shed light on the digital development of child abuse conspiracy theories while advancing the understudied aspects of intermedia agenda-setting literature.