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

TL;DR

This paper addresses the challenge of voluntary online misinformation response by conducting eight in-depth interviews across three online communities (Community Notes on X, r/QAnonCasualties, and r/vaxxhappened). Using three case studies, it reveals how resource sharing, social support, and decentralized organization help sustain motivation, improve efficiency, and broaden reach in misinformation correction. The findings highlight practical opportunities to design sociotechnical systems that support collaborative practices, track impact, and scale local efforts while mitigating harms. The work emphasizes the need for global-context research to understand cultural differences in collaborative misinformation response and to develop inclusive interventions with broad societal impact.

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.