Dark Knowledge and Platform Governance: A Case of an Illicit E-Commerce Community in Reddit

K. Hazel Kwon; Chun Shao

doi:10.1177/0002764221989770

Dark Knowledge and Platform Governance: A Case of an Illicit E-Commerce Community in Reddit

K. Hazel Kwon, Chun Shao

Journalism and Mass Communication, Walter Cronkite School of (CRONKITE)

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

This study examines the dark information commons in Reddit, a pseudonymous social news site, in the context of illicit e-commerce communities. Unlike market forums that are hosted in the dark web, Reddit is open to users of both the clear and dark web, unwittingly serving as a gateway for potential newcomers to learn and prepare their entrance into darknet market systems. To illustrate how information commons in Reddit bolster the resilience of illicit e-commerce communication ecology, this study presents information and knowledge flows in a subreddit community dedicated to a now-defunct market called AlphaBay. This study expands the discussion of the challenges that Reddit, as information commons, encounters in governing the flow of dark knowledge.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	779-799
Number of pages	21
Journal	American Behavioral Scientist
Volume	65
Issue number	6
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764221989770
State	Published - May 2021

Keywords

Reddit
anonymous communities
dark web
darknet market
illicit e-commerce

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Social Psychology
Cultural Studies
Education
Sociology and Political Science
Social Sciences(all)

Access to Document

10.1177/0002764221989770

Cite this

@article{bb8cfbcbca0243ea922690719d71258a,

title = "Dark Knowledge and Platform Governance: A Case of an Illicit E-Commerce Community in Reddit",

abstract = "This study examines the dark information commons in Reddit, a pseudonymous social news site, in the context of illicit e-commerce communities. Unlike market forums that are hosted in the dark web, Reddit is open to users of both the clear and dark web, unwittingly serving as a gateway for potential newcomers to learn and prepare their entrance into darknet market systems. To illustrate how information commons in Reddit bolster the resilience of illicit e-commerce communication ecology, this study presents information and knowledge flows in a subreddit community dedicated to a now-defunct market called AlphaBay. This study expands the discussion of the challenges that Reddit, as information commons, encounters in governing the flow of dark knowledge.",

keywords = "Reddit, anonymous communities, dark web, darknet market, illicit e-commerce",

author = "Kwon, {K. Hazel} and Chun Shao",

note = "Funding Information: The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This research was sponsored by the Army Research Office and was accomplished under Grant Number W911NF-19-1-0066. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021 SAGE Publications.",

year = "2021",

month = may,

doi = "10.1177/0002764221989770",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "65",

pages = "779--799",

journal = "American Behavioral Scientist",

issn = "0002-7642",

publisher = "SAGE Publications Inc.",

number = "6",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Dark Knowledge and Platform Governance

T2 - A Case of an Illicit E-Commerce Community in Reddit

AU - Kwon, K. Hazel

AU - Shao, Chun

N1 - Funding Information: The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This research was sponsored by the Army Research Office and was accomplished under Grant Number W911NF-19-1-0066. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 SAGE Publications.

PY - 2021/5

Y1 - 2021/5

N2 - This study examines the dark information commons in Reddit, a pseudonymous social news site, in the context of illicit e-commerce communities. Unlike market forums that are hosted in the dark web, Reddit is open to users of both the clear and dark web, unwittingly serving as a gateway for potential newcomers to learn and prepare their entrance into darknet market systems. To illustrate how information commons in Reddit bolster the resilience of illicit e-commerce communication ecology, this study presents information and knowledge flows in a subreddit community dedicated to a now-defunct market called AlphaBay. This study expands the discussion of the challenges that Reddit, as information commons, encounters in governing the flow of dark knowledge.

AB - This study examines the dark information commons in Reddit, a pseudonymous social news site, in the context of illicit e-commerce communities. Unlike market forums that are hosted in the dark web, Reddit is open to users of both the clear and dark web, unwittingly serving as a gateway for potential newcomers to learn and prepare their entrance into darknet market systems. To illustrate how information commons in Reddit bolster the resilience of illicit e-commerce communication ecology, this study presents information and knowledge flows in a subreddit community dedicated to a now-defunct market called AlphaBay. This study expands the discussion of the challenges that Reddit, as information commons, encounters in governing the flow of dark knowledge.

KW - Reddit

KW - anonymous communities

KW - dark web

KW - darknet market

KW - illicit e-commerce

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85100447776&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85100447776&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1177/0002764221989770

DO - 10.1177/0002764221989770

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85100447776

SN - 0002-7642

VL - 65

SP - 779

EP - 799

JO - American Behavioral Scientist

JF - American Behavioral Scientist

IS - 6

ER -

Dark Knowledge and Platform Governance: A Case of an Illicit E-Commerce Community in Reddit

Abstract

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this