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Cited by 1,264Gender, Feminism, and MediaSocial Media and PoliticsDigital Games and Media

#Gamergate and The Fappening: How Reddit’s algorithm, governance, and culture support toxic technocultures

Massanari, Adrienne·2017·New Media & Society
DOI 10.1177/1461444815608807
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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.

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Crossref · 10.1177/1461444815608807

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  • For the past two decades, social media has largely followed a centralized paradigm, where power over systems is concentrated among a few actors.

    “For the past two decades, social media has largely followed a centralized paradigm, where power over systems is concentrated among a few actors [30,51,76].”

    From Seeing the Politics of Decentralized Social Media Protocols (2026) · cites this paper as [76]

  • Sexualized imagery of girls and young women is sometimes spread without consent to peers and to publicly accessible online platforms, fora, and sites.

    “Sometimes, however, the practices take more abusive forms, with imagery being spread (mostly by the boys and young men) without consent to peers and further on to more or less publicly accessible online platforms, fora, and sites - some inspired by abusive and toxic adult communities (Ging, 2017; Jane, 2014; Massanari, 2017).”

    From Sexualized, platformed female bodies in male online practices: Negotiating boundaries of masculinity, gendered positioning and intimacy (2022) · cites this paper as Massanari, 2017

  • This process is accelerated by the technological affordances of new media, allowing for the rapid amplification and dissemination of certain words and concepts through echo-chambers.

    “As highlighted by Ging et al. (2020) and Massanari (2017), this process is accelerated by the technological affordances of new media, allowing for the rapid amplification and dissemination of certain words and concepts through echo-chambers.”

    From Mainstreaming the Blackpill: Understanding the Incel Community on TikTok (2023) · cites this paper as Massanari (2017)

  • Incels' beliefs mirror rape myths, and their presence and ideological dissemination on mainstream media generates further harms by confirming and legitimising rape culture, conducive of what Massanari (2017) terms as 'toxic technocultures'.

    “Whilst incels' beliefs mirror rape myths, their presence and ideological dissemination on mainstream media generates further harms by confirming and legitimising rape culture, conducive of what Massanari (2017) terms as 'toxic technocultures'.”

    From Mainstreaming the Blackpill: Understanding the Incel Community on TikTok (2023) · cites this paper as Massanari, 2017

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Authors
Massanari, A.
Affiliations
University of Illinois Chicago (US)
Corresponding author
Massanari, Adrienne
ORCID
Massanari, Adrienne
Venue
New Media & Society
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Published
2016-07-09
Volume
19
Issue
3
Pages
329-346
ISSN
  • 1461-4448 (ISSN-L)
  • 1461-7315
DOI
10.1177/1461444815608807
OpenAlex
W2301953046
Cited by
1,264
References
31
Citations by year
2026: 96 · 2025: 122 · 2024: 138 · 2023: 157 · 2022: 167 · 2021: 149 · 2020: 181 · 2019: 107 · 2018: 87 · 2017: 48 · 2016: 12
FWCI
114.48
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
Locations
New Media & Society (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Gender, Feminism, and Media
  • Social Sciences › Communication › Social Media and Politics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Digital Games and Media
Keywords
Gamergate, Reddit, platform governance, algorithmic curation, subreddits, misogyny, platform politics, online communities

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