Evaluating social media relationships for content creators under threat of de-platforming - interview transcripts

This is the repository concerning the interview connected to the above study, 12 interviews carried out with censored, marginalised content creators in the UK, Ireland, Italy, Australia and the USA.The linked study examines the experiences of content creators at risk of de-platforming and their concept of community in precarious digital spaces. For content creators that use nudity and sexuality as a form of expression, networking and as a source of income, community membership is key. Yet, access to that community is constantly under threat due to content or account removal, known as de-platforming. Through interviews with content creators who had experienced de-platforming, this paper explores their ‘corpo-civic’ relationship with Instagram and TikTok, hybrid locations caught between a work and social space mirroring these platforms’ hybrid nature, between corporate ownership and public use. In doing so, we reflect on the challenges of aspirational creator work and its related difficulty in building, managing and engaging communities in precarious spaces, especially when threatened with de-platforming and relying on a hybrid friend / customer relationship.