Online Ideology: A Comparison of Website Communication and Media Use

Jennifer A. Griffith, Cristina L. Byrne, Darins Nei, Jamie D. Barrett, Michael G. Hughes, Joshua L. Davis, Lauren N. Harkrider, Kimberly S. Hester, Amanda D. Angie, Issacc Robledo, Shane Connelly, H. Dan O'Hair, Michael D. Mumford

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

12 Scopus citations

Abstract

This study examined and compared the websites of ideological groups from a communications and media use perspective. Thirty-six websites with message boards categorized as either violent ideological, nonviolent ideological, or nonviolent nonideological were content coded for several distinguishing characteristics. The results indicated that group type was predicted by the type of information presented, the difficulty of becoming a member, and the amount of freedom members had on discussion boards. These findings suggest that characteristics of violent ideological group websites can be used to distinguish them from websites of both nonviolent ideological and nonideological groups. This study also provides a demonstration of a research methodology that can be used to naturally observe ideological groups via an online setting.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)25-39
Number of pages15
JournalJournal of Computer-Mediated Communication
Volume18
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2013

Keywords

  • Ideological groups
  • Internet groups
  • Message board communication
  • Online communication
  • Technology

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Communication

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Online Ideology: A Comparison of Website Communication and Media Use'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this