Algorithmic Dwelling: Ethos as Deformance in Online Spaces

ABSTRACT

Considering recent returns to pre-Aristotelian understandings of ethos as the creation of dwelling spaces, this article argues that dwelling in algorithmically mediated spaces such as Facebook is intrinsically connected to ethos. The 2016 Dueling Protests in Houston, Texas serve as a case study of how Facebook’s platform functioned as a crucial tool for the Russian Internet Agency’s (IRA) disinformation campaigns. Examining interactions in these ethe ecologies reveals how algorithms shape community perceptions and constructions of ethos.

Notes

1. I would like to thank Rhetoric Review reviewers Hugh Burns and Bridget Gelms for their insightful comments on this article. I would also like to thank Krista Kennedy, Collin Brooke, and Aja Martinez. Finally, I am forever grateful to Troy Keith for their perspective.

2. An organization based in St. Petersburg that disseminates (largely through fake social media accounts) disinformation toward clients’ political and business interests.

3. Rather than banning political advertisements, Facebook has poured resources into: removing IRA accounts and content; consulting third-party fact checkers; improving automated content review via machine learning and artificial intelligence; and implementing more stringent verification procedures for political advertisers (Facebook).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Noah Wilson

Noah Wilson is a doctoral student in the Composition and Cultural Rhetoric program at Syracuse University. His research interests include digital literacy, rhetorical theory, and surveillance studies.