ABSTRACT
The proliferation of deceptive content online has led to the recognition that some actors in the digital ecosystem profit from disinformation’s rapid spread. In response, a research stream examining the financial incentives and business models that drive the spread of disinformation, particularly online, remains a gap. By approaching disinformation research from a market-oriented perspective, researchers can examine how digital platforms’ business models foster the spread of misleading information on an unprecedented scale, not least due to the rise of algorithmic consumption. This chapter argues that constructivist market studies (CMS), a theory that studies how markets are performed in practice, can be a productive method theory for disinformation research. Adopting a market-oriented perspective can allow researchers to scrutinize corporate governance guidelines and platform monetization schemes, which, in turn, may open opportunities to enact the democratic governance of digital advertising and influencer markets. Ultimately, market-oriented disinformation research can pave the way for developing a more resilient online ecosystem that is less vulnerable to injecting dark money into social media and exploiting digital advertising technologies (AdTech).
