A Longitudinal Study of Italian and French Reddit Conversations Around the Russian Invasion of Ukraine

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Corso, Francesco, Russo, Giuseppe, Pierri, Francesco
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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author Corso, Francesco
Russo, Giuseppe
Pierri, Francesco
author_facet Corso, Francesco
Russo, Giuseppe
Pierri, Francesco
contents Global events like wars and pandemics can intensify online discussions, fostering information sharing and connection among individuals. However, the divisive nature of such events may lead to polarization within online communities, shaping the dynamics of online interactions. Our study delves into the conversations within the largest Italian and French Reddit communities, specifically examining how the Russian invasion of Ukraine affected online interactions. We use a dataset with over 3 million posts (i.e., comments and submissions) to (1) describe the patterns of moderation activity and (2) characterize war-related discussions in the subreddits. We found changes in moderators' behavior, who became more active during the first month of the war. Moreover, we identified a connection between the daily sentiment of comments and the prevalence of war-related discussions. These discussions were not only more negative and toxic compared to non-war-related ones but also did not involve a specific demographic group. Our research reveals that there is no tendency for users with similar characteristics to interact more. Overall, our study reveals how the war in Ukraine had a negative influence on daily conversations in the analyzed communities. This sheds light on how users responded to this significant event, providing insights into the dynamics of online discussions during events of global relevance.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2402_04999
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle A Longitudinal Study of Italian and French Reddit Conversations Around the Russian Invasion of Ukraine
Corso, Francesco
Russo, Giuseppe
Pierri, Francesco
Social and Information Networks
Computers and Society
Global events like wars and pandemics can intensify online discussions, fostering information sharing and connection among individuals. However, the divisive nature of such events may lead to polarization within online communities, shaping the dynamics of online interactions. Our study delves into the conversations within the largest Italian and French Reddit communities, specifically examining how the Russian invasion of Ukraine affected online interactions. We use a dataset with over 3 million posts (i.e., comments and submissions) to (1) describe the patterns of moderation activity and (2) characterize war-related discussions in the subreddits. We found changes in moderators' behavior, who became more active during the first month of the war. Moreover, we identified a connection between the daily sentiment of comments and the prevalence of war-related discussions. These discussions were not only more negative and toxic compared to non-war-related ones but also did not involve a specific demographic group. Our research reveals that there is no tendency for users with similar characteristics to interact more. Overall, our study reveals how the war in Ukraine had a negative influence on daily conversations in the analyzed communities. This sheds light on how users responded to this significant event, providing insights into the dynamics of online discussions during events of global relevance.
title A Longitudinal Study of Italian and French Reddit Conversations Around the Russian Invasion of Ukraine
topic Social and Information Networks
Computers and Society
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2402.04999