Dark participation is an umbrella term for manipulative online communication, encompassing all the ways that online participation generates deliberately negative and often destructive content. It ranges from trolling of a single individual by another individual to hate campaigns directed at individuals or groups to the deliberate spread of disinformation by state-sponsored actors to large population groups.
How to Spot Dark Participation
The best way to recognize dark participation is through media literacy, sometimes referred to as media education —deliberate cultivation of the skills to evaluate and analyze media. It is essentially the application of critical thinking to communications of all kinds. It is especially warranted when encountering messages that are surprising, counterintuitive, or represent an extreme view.
Among the most important questions to ask on reviewing any piece of information:
• Is there an identifiable, reliable source of the information, and who or what is the source?
• Has the information been confirmed or verified by more than one independent source?
Types of Dark Participation
Dark participation currently takes several forms, and it is thought that new forms may evolve in the future. Thorsten Quandt and others single out hate speech, disinformation such as the strategic spread of false information, trolling and bullying to harass or discredit individuals, and spreading conspiracy theories.
It encompasses fake news, which is factually distorted information disguised as journalism or manufactured or manipulated images. Dark participation also includes incivility, including expressions of intolerance and the encouragement of violence.
One of the most noted purveyors of dark participation was the now-defunct Internet Research Agency, established in St. Petersburg, Russia, by Yevgeny Prigozhin in 2013 and known as a “troll farm.” Using fake accounts on established social media sites, the group not only supported Russia’s interests in Ukraine and Syria but issued messages to discredit Alexei Navalny in Russia and to discredit Hillary Clinton in the 2016 U.S. elections. The group also engaged in messaging to polarize attitudes about vaccines. In 2018, the U.S. government indicted the agency for criminally interfering in the 2016 U.S. election.
What Motivates Dark Participation
Many are the motivations for dark participation. Sometimes dark participation is the result of situational rage . Other times it is more purposeful and the product of “authentic evil”—morally bad acts driven by personal hate or the sheer pleasure of making others suffer. Then there are large-scale manipulation campaigns with negative intent—by various interest groups or state actors—to undermine trust in public institutions, discredit public figures, foment societal discord, to influence the outcome of elections.
Dark personality traits such as Machiavellianism and sociopathy can drive the manipulativeness that underlies dark participation. Some may engage in negative behavior for the sheer joy of harming others. Many use online communication instrumentally, intentionally spewing disinformation to sow doubt about events in democracies. But not all forms of negative online behavior are the result of dark personalities . Some actors may spew hate or humiliation in response to perceived slights by others.
A primary consequence of dark participation is polarization leading to widespread distrust of others, social discord, and incivility. In some countries, dark participation has directly influenced public attitudes on important policy matters such as immigration and triggered criminal activity against refugees. Communications to deliberately foment polarization can divert populations from recognizing other important developments.
Personal Perspective: Welcome both darkness and light into your life to achieve balance and wholeness.
Explore More About Dark Participation
For a comprehensive understanding of dark participation, read our complete guide: