Unmasking the Mask Issue on Reddit: An Investigation of Online Public Deliberation around the Mask Controversy in the United States

Abstract

The aim of this investigation was to explore U.S. Americans’ mask attitude and their public deliberation processes on Reddit during the COVID-19 pandemic. With the assistance of “Key Features of Deliberative Conversation and Discussion” variables developed by Gastil and Black, the current project used content analysis method to analyze 524 Reddit posts on mask-wearing issues during two time periods of 2020 (February–March and July). The results showed that Reddit users’ attitude changed over time and there was a significant association between user attitude and most analytical and social deliberation process except for creating information base. The above results were generally supported when different time periods were considered. The present study also revealed that at the time of great uncertainty, users demonstrated a “deficit mode,” which results from expertise knowledge deficits and calls for expert enhancement in information dissemination and problem-solving. Besides the positive correlation between public attitude and policy agenda, there was a general lack of interest in social factors, thus harming the quality of online public deliberation processes. Limitations and implications were discussed.