Caplan, Robyn. Networked platform governance: reconciling horizontals and hierarchies in the platform era. Retrieved from https://doi.org/doi:10.7282/t3-1yft-7s71
DescriptionOver the last several years, concerns about the credibility or trustworthiness of information online have been mounting. At the center of these concerns were questions about the role platform companies — particularly search and social media should be playing in controlling access to information online. This dissertation provides three perspectives on the development of content standards for false information online. Through case studies told from the perspectives of the platform industry, from a media association, and from YouTube content creators, this dissertation explores the challenges and consequences of multistakeholderism in content policymaking by platforms. Though what constitutes trustworthy or credible information has always been a concern in communication systems, this study proposes that recent concerns about the spread of false information over platforms reveal a renegotiation of the boundaries between amateurs and experts in knowledge production that has been unfolding over the last several decades with the rise of platforms and social media. This study places this process of renegotiation within the broader context of a new area for media reform referred to as platform governance.