Yudhoatmojo, Satrio;
De Cristofaro, Emiliano;
Blackburn, Jeremy;
(2023)
Understanding the Use of e-Prints on Reddit and 4chan’s Politically Incorrect Board.
In:
WebSci '23: Proceedings of the 15th ACM Web Science Conference 2023.
(pp. pp. 117-127).
ACM
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Abstract
The dissemination and reach of scientific knowledge have increased at a blistering pace. In this context, e-Print servers have played a central role by providing scientists with a rapid and open mechanism for disseminating research without waiting for the (lengthy) peer review process. While helping the scientific community in several ways, e-Print servers also provide scientific communicators and the general public with access to a wealth of knowledge without paying hefty subscription fees. This motivates us to study how e-Prints are positioned within Web community discussions. In this paper, we analyze data from two Web communities: 14 years of Reddit data and over 4 from 4chan’s Politically Incorrect board. Our findings highlight the presence of e-Prints in both science-enthusiast and general-audience communities. Real-world events and distinct factors influence the e-Prints people’s discussions; e.g., there was a surge of COVID-19-related research publications during the early months of the outbreak and increased references to e-Prints in online discussions. Text in e-Prints and in online discussions referencing them has a low similarity, suggesting that the latter are not exclusively talking about the findings in the former. Further, our analysis of a sample of threads highlights: 1) misinterpretation and generalization of research findings, 2) early research findings being amplified as a source for future predictions, and 3) questioning findings from a pseudoscientific e-Print. Overall, our work emphasizes the need to quickly and effectively validate non-peer-reviewed e-Prints that get substantial press/social media coverage to help mitigate wrongful interpretations of scientific outputs.
| Type: | Proceedings paper |
|---|---|
| Title: | Understanding the Use of e-Prints on Reddit and 4chan’s Politically Incorrect Board |
| Event: | WebSci '23: 15th ACM Web Science Conference 2023 |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1145/3578503.3583627 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1145/3578503.3583627 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > Dept of Computer Science |
| URI: | https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10169177 |
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