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Online Gatekeepers of History: Yahoo! Answers Community Discussing Holocaust Denial

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Abstract

Scholarly attention has been directed to the spread and scope of online Q&A services, including the level of activity, types and messages and the social roles the members of these sites occupy. A content analysis was conducted of the answers supplied in response to questions aimed at identifying the reasons for Holocaust denial in Yahoo! Answers. The replies denoted the existence of two main opposing online socio-cultural roles adopted by these participants: online gatekeepers of history and online gatekeepers of pseudo-history. The activity levels of those filling these roles and the community’s approval of their answers were also assessed. Future avenues of research regarding these two roles are suggested.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Education and Psychology, Open University of Israel, 1 University Road, P.O.B 808, Raanna, 43107, Israel

    Alon Lazar

  2. Department of Behavioral Sciences, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Eilat Campus, P.O Box 653, Beer Sheva, 84105, Israel

    Tal Litvak Hirsch

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  1. Alon Lazar
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  2. Tal Litvak Hirsch
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Correspondence to Alon Lazar.

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Lazar, A., Hirsch, T.L. Online Gatekeepers of History: Yahoo! Answers Community Discussing Holocaust Denial. Curr Psychol 32, 281–296 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-013-9183-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-013-9183-4

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