University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

“We need to save civilization first”: examining the role of cyberlibertarian design in the disinformation culture of Reddit’s /r/The_Donald

Malo, Gabriel

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/132652

Description

Title
“We need to save civilization first”: examining the role of cyberlibertarian design in the disinformation culture of Reddit’s /r/The_Donald
Author(s)
Malo, Gabriel
Issue Date
2025-11-24
Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)
Chan, Anita s
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Chan, Anita s
Committee Member(s)
  • Cole, CL
  • Craft, Stephanie
  • Hay, James
Department of Study
Inst of Communications Rsch
Discipline
Communications and Media
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
  • Reddit
  • cyberlibertarian design
  • online communities
  • alt-right
  • far right
Abstract
Cyberlibertarian design principles have become an increasingly common feature of mainstream social media platforms, with Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, Reddit, and other platforms employing once-experimental models of content moderation that assume a cyberlibertarian stance towards free speech. Seeking to understand the impact of this design politic upon our media landscape, this dissertation explores Reddit’s alt-right subreddit /r/The_Donald, utilizing a framework rooted in both science and technology studies and critical theories of the media. To that end, the dissertation examines the form and content of the subreddit, beginning from its inception in 2015, and culminating with the apex of its prominence in the public consciousness during 2017’s Unite the Right rally. By examining this critical site of development of the online far right within the context of the right-wing media ecosystems from which it emerged, I seek to understand the critical differences between human- and algorithmically-moderated (dis)information flows, their intersection and interaction with far-right subjects, and the impact of their design and affordances upon democratic publics in a time of informational crisis.
Graduation Semester
2025-12
Type of Resource
Thesis
Handle URL
https://hdl.handle.net/2142/132652
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 2025 Gabriel Malo

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