@article{Buntain_Innes_Mitts_Shapiro_2023, title={Cross-Platform Reactions to the Post-January 6 Deplatforming}, volume={3}, url={https://journalqd.org/article/view/4030}, DOI={10.51685/jqd.2023.004}, abstractNote={<p> <span class="fontstyle0">We study changes in social media usage following the ‘Great Deplatforming’ in<br />the aftermath of the 6 January 2021 attack on the US Capitol. Following the<br />attack, several major platforms banned thousands of accounts, ostensibly to<br />limit misinformation about voter fraud and suppress calls for violence. At the<br />same time, alternative platforms like Gab, BitChute, and Parler welcomed these<br />deplatformed individuals. We identify three key patterns: First, in studying<br />the platforms that emerged among users seeking alternative spaces, we see high<br />frequencies of users bridging these communities announcing their intent to join<br />non-mainstream platforms to their audiences on mainstream platforms. Second, focusing on platforms that were created to be alternative, anti-censorship<br />spaces, deplatforming preceded a sustained increase in engagement with Gab<br />across Twitter, Reddit, and Google search, while Parler saw a steep decline in<br />engagement. Third, examining the language in these spaces, toxic discourse<br />increased briefly on Reddit and Twitter but returned to normal after the deplatforming, while Gab became more toxic. These results suggest that while<br />deplatforming may precede a reduction in targeted discussions within a specific platform, it can incentivize users to seek alternative platforms where these<br />discussions are less regulated and often more extreme.</span><br />As these alternative spaces are often more political and extreme than their mainstream counterparts, deplatforming may drive single-platform improvements at the expense of the larger information ecosystem.</p>}, journal={Journal of Quantitative Description: Digital Media }, author={Buntain, Cody and Innes, Martin and Mitts, Tamar and Shapiro, Jacob}, year={2023}, month={Mar.} }