Spreading the Word: Exploring a Network of Mobilizing Messages in a Telegram Conspiracy Group

Darja Wischerath; Emily Godwin; Desislava Bocheva; Olivia Brown; Jonathan Francis Roscoe; Brittany I. Davidson

doi:10.1145/3613905.3651888

Spreading the Word: Exploring a Network of Mobilizing Messages in a Telegram Conspiracy Group

Darja Wischerath
, Emily Godwin
, Desislava Bocheva
, Olivia Brown
, Jonathan Francis Roscoe
, Brittany I. Davidson

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference Contribution (Conference Proceeding)

2 Citations (Scopus)

32 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Telegram's design prioritizes user security and minimal content moderation, making it appealing for communities banned from mainstream platforms, such as conspiracy influencers or far-right movements. We examine the bi-directional behavior of users in a conspiratorial Telegram group chat during the COVID-19 pandemic from 2020-2023. We find that the network structure of this community evolved throughout the pandemic, where the network grew both in the number of active users, as well as in the number of interactions. This increased interconnectivity coincided with surges in planning discussions for associated offline protests.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	CHI 2024: Extended Abstracts of the 2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Sytems
Editors	Florian Floyd Mueller, Penny Kyburz, Julie R. Williamson, Corina Sas
Publisher	Association for Computing Machinery
Number of pages	8
ISBN (Electronic)	9798400703317
ISBN (Print)	9798400703317
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1145/3613905.3651888
Publication status	Published - 11 May 2024
Event	2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Honolulu, HI, USA, Honolulu, United States Duration: 11 May 2024 → 16 May 2024 https://chi2024.acm.org/

Publication series

Name	CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing System
Publisher	ACM
ISSN (Print)	1062-9432
ISSN (Electronic)	1062-9432

Conference

Conference	2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Abbreviated title	CHI ’24
Country/Territory	United States
City	Honolulu
Period	11/05/24 → 16/05/24
Internet address	https://chi2024.acm.org/

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2024 Owner/Author.

Access to Document

10.1145/3613905.3651888

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This is the accepted author manuscript (AAM) of the article which has been made Open Access under the University of Bristol's Scholarly Works Policy. The final published version (Version of Record) can be found on the publisher's website. The copyright of any third-party content, such as images, remains with the copyright holder.
Accepted author manuscript, 634 KBLicence: CC BY

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Wischerath, D., Godwin, E., Bocheva, D., Brown, O., Roscoe, J. F., & Davidson, B. I. (2024). Spreading the Word: Exploring a Network of Mobilizing Messages in a Telegram Conspiracy Group. In F. F. Mueller, P. Kyburz, J. R. Williamson, & C. Sas (Eds.), CHI 2024: Extended Abstracts of the 2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Sytems Article 300 (CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing System). Association for Computing Machinery. https://doi.org/10.1145/3613905.3651888

Wischerath, Darja ; Godwin, Emily ; Bocheva, Desislava et al. / Spreading the Word : Exploring a Network of Mobilizing Messages in a Telegram Conspiracy Group. CHI 2024: Extended Abstracts of the 2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Sytems. editor / Florian Floyd Mueller ; Penny Kyburz ; Julie R. Williamson ; Corina Sas. Association for Computing Machinery, 2024. (CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing System).

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title = "Spreading the Word: Exploring a Network of Mobilizing Messages in a Telegram Conspiracy Group",

abstract = "Telegram's design prioritizes user security and minimal content moderation, making it appealing for communities banned from mainstream platforms, such as conspiracy influencers or far-right movements. We examine the bi-directional behavior of users in a conspiratorial Telegram group chat during the COVID-19 pandemic from 2020-2023. We find that the network structure of this community evolved throughout the pandemic, where the network grew both in the number of active users, as well as in the number of interactions. This increased interconnectivity coincided with surges in planning discussions for associated offline protests.",

author = "Darja Wischerath and Emily Godwin and Desislava Bocheva and Olivia Brown and Roscoe, \{Jonathan Francis\} and Davidson, \{Brittany I.\}",

note = "Publisher Copyright: Copyright {\textcopyright} 2024 Owner/Author.; 2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI {\textquoteright}24 ; Conference date: 11-05-2024 Through 16-05-2024",

year = "2024",

month = may,

day = "11",

doi = "10.1145/3613905.3651888",

language = "English",

isbn = "9798400703317",

series = "CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing System",

publisher = "Association for Computing Machinery",

editor = "Mueller, \{Florian Floyd\} and Penny Kyburz and Williamson, \{Julie R.\} and Corina Sas",

booktitle = "CHI 2024: Extended Abstracts of the 2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Sytems",

address = "United States",

url = "https://chi2024.acm.org/",

}

Wischerath, D, Godwin, E, Bocheva, D, Brown, O, Roscoe, JF & Davidson, BI 2024, Spreading the Word: Exploring a Network of Mobilizing Messages in a Telegram Conspiracy Group. in FF Mueller, P Kyburz, JR Williamson & C Sas (eds), CHI 2024: Extended Abstracts of the 2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Sytems., 300, CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing System, Association for Computing Machinery, 2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Honolulu, Hawaii, United States, 11/05/24. https://doi.org/10.1145/3613905.3651888

Spreading the Word: Exploring a Network of Mobilizing Messages in a Telegram Conspiracy Group. / Wischerath, Darja; Godwin, Emily; Bocheva, Desislava et al.
CHI 2024: Extended Abstracts of the 2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Sytems. ed. / Florian Floyd Mueller; Penny Kyburz; Julie R. Williamson; Corina Sas. Association for Computing Machinery, 2024. 300 (CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing System).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference Contribution (Conference Proceeding)

TY - GEN

T1 - Spreading the Word

T2 - 2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

AU - Wischerath, Darja

AU - Godwin, Emily

AU - Bocheva, Desislava

AU - Brown, Olivia

AU - Roscoe, Jonathan Francis

AU - Davidson, Brittany I.

PY - 2024/5/11

Y1 - 2024/5/11

N2 - Telegram's design prioritizes user security and minimal content moderation, making it appealing for communities banned from mainstream platforms, such as conspiracy influencers or far-right movements. We examine the bi-directional behavior of users in a conspiratorial Telegram group chat during the COVID-19 pandemic from 2020-2023. We find that the network structure of this community evolved throughout the pandemic, where the network grew both in the number of active users, as well as in the number of interactions. This increased interconnectivity coincided with surges in planning discussions for associated offline protests.

AB - Telegram's design prioritizes user security and minimal content moderation, making it appealing for communities banned from mainstream platforms, such as conspiracy influencers or far-right movements. We examine the bi-directional behavior of users in a conspiratorial Telegram group chat during the COVID-19 pandemic from 2020-2023. We find that the network structure of this community evolved throughout the pandemic, where the network grew both in the number of active users, as well as in the number of interactions. This increased interconnectivity coincided with surges in planning discussions for associated offline protests.

UR - https://chi2024.acm.org/

U2 - 10.1145/3613905.3651888

DO - 10.1145/3613905.3651888

M3 - Conference Contribution (Conference Proceeding)

SN - 9798400703317

T3 - CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing System

BT - CHI 2024: Extended Abstracts of the 2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Sytems

A2 - Mueller, Florian Floyd

A2 - Kyburz, Penny

A2 - Williamson, Julie R.

A2 - Sas, Corina

PB - Association for Computing Machinery

Y2 - 11 May 2024 through 16 May 2024

ER -

Wischerath D, Godwin E, Bocheva D, Brown O, Roscoe JF, Davidson BI. Spreading the Word: Exploring a Network of Mobilizing Messages in a Telegram Conspiracy Group. In Mueller FF, Kyburz P, Williamson JR, Sas C, editors, CHI 2024: Extended Abstracts of the 2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Sytems. Association for Computing Machinery. 2024. 300. (CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing System). doi: 10.1145/3613905.3651888

Spreading the Word: Exploring a Network of Mobilizing Messages in a Telegram Conspiracy Group

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