“We need to save civilization first”: examining the role of cyberlibertarian design in the disinformation culture of Reddit’s /r/The_Donald

Cyberlibertarian design principles have become an increasingly common feature of mainstream social media platforms, with Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, Reddit, and other platforms employing once-experimental models of content moderation that assume a cyberlibertarian stance towards free speech. Seeking to understand the impact of this design politic upon our media landscape, this dissertation explores Reddit’s alt-right subreddit /r/The_Donald, utilizing a framework rooted in both science and technology studies and critical theories of the media. To that end, the dissertation examines the form and content of the subreddit, beginning from its inception in 2015, and culminating with the apex of its prominence in the public consciousness during 2017’s Unite the Right rally. By examining this critical site of development of the online far right within the context of the right-wing media ecosystems from which it emerged, I seek to understand the critical differences between human- and algorithmically-moderated (dis)information flows, their intersection and interaction with far-right subjects, and the impact of their design and affordances upon democratic publics in a time of informational crisis.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Communications and Media

Grantor

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2025

Author dc:creator

• Malo, Gabriel

Contributors dc:contributor

• Chan, Anita s
• Cole, CL
• Craft, Stephanie
• Hay, James

• Reddit
• cyberlibertarian design
• online communities
• alt-right
• far right

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2025 Gabriel Malo

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/132652

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/132652