The Collaborative Practices and Motivations of Online Communities Dedicated to Voluntary Misinformation Response

TL;DR

This study explores how online communities dedicated to correcting misinformation sustain motivation and effectiveness through resource sharing, social support, and decentralized practices, based on interviews and case studies.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the collaborative practices and motivations of volunteers combating misinformation in online communities.

Findings

Communities help sustain motivation and improve communication skills.

Sharing sources and emotional support are common practices.

Decentralization and resource sharing enhance misinformation correction.

Abstract

Responding to misinformation online can be an exhausting and thankless task. It takes time and energy to write effective content, puts users at risk of online harassment, and strains personal relationships. Despite these challenges, there are people who voluntarily respond to misinformation online, and some have established communities on platforms such as Reddit, Discord, and X (formerly Twitter) dedicated to these efforts. In this work, we interviewed 8 people who participate in such communities to understand the type of support they receive from each other in these discussion spaces. Interviewees described that their communities helped them sustain motivation, save time, and improve their communication skills. Common practices included sharing sources and citations, providing emotional support, giving others advice, and signaling positive feedback. We present our findings as three case studies and discuss opportunities for future work to support collaborative practices in online communities dedicated to misinformation response. Our work surfaces how resource sharing, social motivation, and decentralization can make misinformation correction more sustainable, rewarding, and effective for online citizens.