Putting GamerGate in context: how group documentation informs social media activity

Abstract

In this paper, I begin the process of examining the value of organizational documentation in evaluating social media activism. I take a rhetorical analysis approach to some of the documentation associated with the GamerGate movement and compare traits within the documentation to social media artifacts and metadata to determine how well the documents reflect the active network in regards to desired behavior and goals. Additionally, I examine the challenges in this approach given the anonymity and diffusion of authorship. Finally, I look at how documentation analysis can help inform big data analysis in online activism.