Short answer

Design platforms that facilitate strategic communication and community building for user-led advocacy, recognizing the importance of diverse digital affordances and integrated online/offline strategies.

Field: User-Centred Design
Source: Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) (2017)
Method: Mixed-methods research combining qualitative and quantitative analysis.
Evidence: Moderate effect

Activists strategically leverage the unique affordances of different social media platforms to construct and disseminate counter-narratives, effectively challenging dominant media portrayals. This user-centred design research insight is drawn from a 2017 study published in Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW). Using Mixed-methods research combining qualitative and quantitative analysis., researchers explored how this design variable affects real-world outcomes. The key design takeaway: Design platforms that facilitate strategic communication and community building for user-led advocacy, recognizing the importance of diverse digital affordances and integrated online/offline strategies.

Study

User-Centred DesignHigh ImpactModerate effect

Social Media Platforms as Tools for Grassroots Narrative Control

Activists strategically leverage the unique affordances of different social media platforms to construct and disseminate counter-narratives, effectively challenging dominant media portrayals.

Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) · 2017

Key Findings

01Activists strategically select and utilize different social media platforms based on their specific technological affordances to manage and orchestrate counter-discourse.
02Successful counter-discourse campaigns often combine online and offline activities, leveraging both new and broadcast media to build and engage an audience.
03Measuring the success of counter-discourse is challenging, with activists relying on a combination of social media analytics and anecdotal feedback.

Application

Design takeaway

How to apply

When designing community platforms or advocacy tools, consider how users might strategically employ different features to build consensus, counter misinformation, and amplify their voices.

Project actions

01Consider how different social media platforms have unique features that can be used for specific communication goals.
02Think about how online campaigns can be supported by offline actions to increase their impact.

Method & Evidence

AimHow do activists design and deploy counter-discourse on social media to challenge dominant media narratives, and what are the implications for platform design and user engagement?

MethodMixed-methods research combining qualitative and quantitative analysis.

ProcedureThe study involved content analysis of social media posts and traditional media texts, alongside interviews with activists involved in campaigns challenging 'poverty porn' television. This was done to understand how activists used different platforms and combined online/offline activities.

ContextOnline activism and media critique.

Variables

IV["Type of social media platform and its affordances","Combination of online and offline activities"]

DV["Effectiveness of counter-discourse","Audience engagement","Narrative control"]

CV["Nature of the dominant media narrative being challenged","Socio-political context of the activism"]

Strengths & Limitations

Strengths

+Combines multiple research methods for a comprehensive understanding.
+Focuses on a real-world application of digital communication strategies.

Limitations

It can be difficult to prove that a social media campaign directly caused a change in public opinion or media portrayal.

Reliability & validity

Reliability could be enhanced by using multiple coders for content analysis. Validity is supported by triangulating data from social media, traditional media, and interviews.

Think critically

How can designers create platforms that are robust enough to support genuine grassroots movements while also mitigating the risks of manipulation or the amplification of harmful narratives?

Design Principles

"Empower diverse user groups by providing flexible and interconnected digital tools for narrative construction and dissemination."

Understanding how user groups, even those with limited resources, can effectively shape public discourse through digital tools is crucial for designers. It highlights the power of platform design in enabling or hindering user agency and collective action.

What This Means for Your Design

People fighting against unfair media stories use different social media sites on purpose to get their message out. They mix online posts with real-world events to get more people to listen.

How to use in your project

1.Use this research to justify the selection of specific digital platforms for a user-led design project aimed at social change.
2.Reference findings on combined online/offline strategies when planning user engagement activities.

Add to My Project

Quick Cite

Paragraph starter

This study highlights how activists strategically employ social media platforms, leveraging their unique affordances to construct and disseminate counter-narratives. The research demonstrates that successful campaigns often integrate online and offline activities, and that measuring impact requires a nuanced approach combining quantitative data with qualitative feedback, offering valuable insights for designing user-led advocacy tools.

Source

Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW)

Counter-Discourse Activism on Social Media: The Case of Challenging “Poverty Porn” Television

journal · 2017

View source

Questions About This Research

What does the research say about social media platforms as tools for grassroots narrative control?: Design platforms that facilitate strategic communication and community building for user-led advocacy, recognizing the importance of diverse digital affordances and integrated online/offline strategies. Evidence: Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) (2017).
Why does "Social Media Platforms as Tools for Grassroots Narrative Control" matter for design?: Understanding how user groups, even those with limited resources, can effectively shape public discourse through digital tools is crucial for designers. It highlights the power of platform design in enabling or hindering user agency and collective action.
How can designers apply this research?: Design platforms that facilitate strategic communication and community building for user-led advocacy, recognizing the importance of diverse digital affordances and integrated online/offline strategies.
What were the main findings?: Activists strategically select and utilize different social media platforms based on their specific technological affordances to manage and orchestrate counter-discourse.. Successful counter-discourse campaigns often combine online and offline activities, leveraging both new and broadcast media to build and engage an audience.. Measuring the success of counter-discourse is challenging, with activists relying on a combination of social media analytics and anecdotal feedback.
What research method was used?: Mixed-methods research combining qualitative and quantitative analysis..
How strong is the evidence?: Evidence strength is rated Moderate effect, based on a 2017 journal from Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW).
What should I do differently in my next project?: When designing community platforms or advocacy tools, consider how users might strategically employ different features to build consensus, counter misinformation, and amplify their voices.
What are the limitations?: The study acknowledges challenges in definitively measuring the success of counter-discourse and the potential for ambiguity in the legitimacy of grassroots activism.