Participatory Design and Power in Misinformation, Disinformation, and Online Hate Research

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As a research tradition, participatory design (PD) tends to focus on power dynamics where researchers hold greater power than participants. This paper uses design fiction to consider what this tendency overlooks by examining settings where participants may exist in multiple power relationships simultaneously implicated by the research, specifically focusing on the contexts of misinformation, disinformation, and online hate (M/D/OH). Drawing from existing literature in M/D/OH, we present a series of imaginary method abstracts that prompt questions for researchers to reflect on as they adapt PD techniques for new, different contexts. We highlight three value tensions—authenticity, reciprocity, and impact—integral to sustaining a concern for responsibility in PD scholarship. We end with reflections and potential considerations for responsibly applying PD and design fiction methods in M/D/OH settings.