From Passive Participation to Accountable Contribution: How Civic-Tech Platforms Reshape the Role of Digital Citizens in Participatory Journalism
Keywords:
Participatory Journalism; Civic-Tech; Digital Citizenship; Accountability; Ethics-by-Design; Digital EthnographyAbstract
The shift from consumers to producers within the public sphere has opened more opportunities for citizen participation, but it has also increased pressure on factual integrity and ethical practice. Civic technology has been proposed as a structural mechanism for addressing this tension; however, empirical evidence on how civic-tech platforms transform participants into accountable contributors remains limited. This study investigates how such transformation occurs, what platform mechanisms support accountability, and what conditions are required to sustain digital citizenship and an ethical information environment. A qualitative explanatory single-case study was conducted on an Indonesian citizen journalism platform selected because it incorporates peer-verification features into its publishing workflow and has operated for at least three years. Data comprised 24 digital-ethnography observation sessions, 23 semi-structured interviews involving 14 citizen contributors, 4 platform developers, 3 community editors, and 2 communication scholars, analysis of 86 citizen-produced articles, and 11 platform documents. Data were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis, supported by methodological triangulation and member checking. The findings show that peer correction was a more frequently reported trigger of accountable behavior than formal training; workflow-embedded verification features were used more consistently than optional features; and verification fatigue created a sustainability challenge. The study proposes a four-pillar model in which ethical and accountability values are integrated into platform design.
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