Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Power Gossip And Rumour Have In Shaping Online Identity And Reputation: A Critical Discourse Analysis, Michael Nycyk

The Qualitative Report

What is posted on the Internet about a person’s identity and reputation has the potential power to affect others’ perceptions of them. This study aims to understand and describe how this occurs by undertaking a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) of the website Lamebook. It asks in what ways people’s online identity and reputation are shaped by others, or by one’s self, that may influence others’ opinions about them and how is this being done? The results suggest several characteristics of power relations are being exercised by people against others and themselves that harm their identity and reputation. These are achieved …