Dark Knowledge and Platform Governance: A Case of an Illicit E-Commerce Community in Reddit

Abstract

This study examines the dark information commons in Reddit, a pseudonymous social news site, in the context of illicit e-commerce communities. Unlike market forums that are hosted in the dark web, Reddit is open to users of both the clear and dark web, unwittingly serving as a gateway for potential newcomers to learn and prepare their entrance into darknet market systems. To illustrate how information commons in Reddit bolster the resilience of illicit e-commerce communication ecology, this study presents information and knowledge flows in a subreddit community dedicated to a now-defunct market called AlphaBay. This study expands the discussion of the challenges that Reddit, as information commons, encounters in governing the flow of dark knowledge.

Keywords

darknet market dark web Reddit anonymous communities illicit e-commerce

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