Massanari, A. (2017). #Gamergate and The Fappening: How Reddit’s algorithm, governance, and culture support toxic technocultures. New Media & Society, 19(3), 329–346.

Link: https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444815608807

Open access: No

Notes: It is not an easy task to identify the complex intertwining of cultural and technological structures involved in digital violence. In this article, Massanari explores Gamergate and The Fappening on Reddit from a techno-cultural perspective, drawing on Latour’s actor-network analysis. In doing so, Massanari outlines how Reddit’s infrastructure asserts and expands a masculinity culture that seeks to diminish women. She defines this social space as toxic technocultures, which are the “toxic cultures that are enabled by and propagated through sociotechnical networks such as Reddit, 4chan, Twitter, and online gaming” (p. 33). Through this lens, we can evidence the role of Reddit’s technological features and governance approaches in enabling such toxicity—for instance, the platform’s aggregation approach increases visibility and participation around harm. In this environment, Massanari concludes, “toxic technocultures propagate precisely because of the liminal and fluid connectedness of Internet platforms” (p. 341).

Abstract: This article considers how the social-news and community site Reddit.com has become a hub for anti-feminist activism. Examining two recent cases of what are defined as “toxic technocultures” (#Gamergate and The Fappening), this work describes how Reddit’s design, algorithm, and platform politics implicitly support these kinds of cultures. In particular, this piece focuses on the ways in which Reddit’s karma point system, aggregation of material across subreddits, ease of subreddit and user account creation, governance structure, and policies around offensive content serve to provide fertile ground for anti-feminist and misogynistic activism. The ways in which these events and communities reflect certain problematic aspects of geek masculinity are also considered. This research is informed by the results of a long-term participant-observation and ethnographic study into Reddit’s culture and community and is grounded in actor-network theory.