怀疑的种子审视另类社交媒体和新闻媒体对阴谋论诞生的作用

IF 3 2区 社会学 Q2 COMPUTER SCIENCE, INTERDISCIPLINARY APPLICATIONS
Tim Schatto-Eckrodt, Lena Clever, Lena Frischlich
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引用次数: 0

摘要

消费阴谋论会削弱人们对民主制度的信任,而阴谋论信仰则会降低民主参与的积极性,对民主构成潜在威胁。社交媒体的激增,尤其是出现了许多几乎没有节制的替代平台,极大地促进了阴谋论的传播和消费。然而,人们对不同平台上特定阴谋论的起源和演变仍然缺乏了解。本研究旨在通过对围绕杰弗里-爱泼斯坦之死的新阴谋论的起源进行大规模、跨平台研究来弥补这一空白。我们对一个独特的数据集进行了(半)自动内容分析,该数据集包括在成熟平台(Twitter、Reddit)和另类平台(Gab 和 4Chan)上发布的 8,020,314 条与爱泼斯坦有关的帖子。我们的数据显示,所研究平台的用户会立即转向阴谋论解释,对事件的官方表述表现出怀疑态度。尤其是在另类平台上,这种怀疑态度迅速转化为毫无根据的阴谋论,而另类新闻媒体来源的引用则在一定程度上为这种阴谋论提供了支持。本研究显示了阴谋论解释如何在低信息环境中茁壮成长,以及另类媒体如何在将理性怀疑转化为毫无根据的阴谋论方面发挥作用。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
The Seed of Doubt: Examining the Role of Alternative Social and News Media for the Birth of a Conspiracy Theory
Consuming conspiracy theories erodes trust in democratic institutions, while conspiracy beliefs demotivate democratic participation, posing a potential threat to democracy. The proliferation of social media, especially the emergence of numerous alternative platforms with minimal moderation, has greatly facilitated the dissemination and consumption of conspiracy theories. Nevertheless, there remains a dearth of knowledge concerning the origin and evolution of specific conspiracy theories across different platforms. This study aims to address this gap through a large-scale, cross-platform examination of the genesis of new conspiracy theories surrounding the death of Jeffrey Epstein. Through a (semi-) automated content analysis conducted on a distinctive dataset comprising N = 8,020,314 Epstein-related posts posted on both established platforms ( Twitter, Reddit) and alternative platforms ( Gab and 4Chan), we demonstrate that conspiracy theories emerge early and influence public discourse well in advance of reports from established media sources. Our data shows that users of the studied platforms immediately turn to conspirational explanations, exhibiting skepticism towards the official representation of events. Especially on alternative platforms, this skepticism swiftly transformed into unwarranted conspiracy theorizing, partly bolstered by references to alternative news media sources. The present study shows how conspirational explanations thrive in low information environments and how alternative media plays a role in turning rational skepticism into unwarranted conspiracy theories.
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来源期刊
Social Science Computer Review
Social Science Computer Review 社会科学-计算机:跨学科应用
CiteScore
9.00
自引率
4.90%
发文量
95
审稿时长
>12 weeks
期刊介绍: Unique Scope Social Science Computer Review is an interdisciplinary journal covering social science instructional and research applications of computing, as well as societal impacts of informational technology. Topics included: artificial intelligence, business, computational social science theory, computer-assisted survey research, computer-based qualitative analysis, computer simulation, economic modeling, electronic modeling, electronic publishing, geographic information systems, instrumentation and research tools, public administration, social impacts of computing and telecommunications, software evaluation, world-wide web resources for social scientists. Interdisciplinary Nature Because the Uses and impacts of computing are interdisciplinary, so is Social Science Computer Review. The journal is of direct relevance to scholars and scientists in a wide variety of disciplines. In its pages you''ll find work in the following areas: sociology, anthropology, political science, economics, psychology, computer literacy, computer applications, and methodology.
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