Beyond Information: Online Participatory Culture and Information Disorder

Information disorder (i.e. the proliferation of misinformation, disinformation, propaganda, and hate speech) is contributing to intensifying global democratic backsliding, and diminished abilities to understand and address difficult challenges across diverse domains, such as health, migration, and climate science. A contributing factor to information disorder is the internet’s participatory, collaborative, and remix culture, with platforms creating pathways for online audiences to create and spread problematic information. Researchers studying information disorder have become targets of disinformation and harassment campaigns, increasing burnout and underscoring the pressing need and ongoing challenges of conducting this research. These challenges stress the importance of scholars from diverse backgrounds coming together to build networks that increase both the quality of scholarship and capacities to protect and care for targeted researchers. In this CSCW workshop, attendees will identify which directions of empirical research, methods, perspectives, interventions, public communications, and other actions should be prioritized as the community seeks to continue combating information disorder in this difficult climate. Scholars will then share and reflect upon concerns and harms they have endured in pursuing this work, sharing resources that have helped them through these challenges, identifying new potential resources, and opportunities to support one another.