The Contested Space of User-Generated Content on an English Local Newspaper Website during the Coronavirus Pandemic

This study sets the groundwork for a transdisciplinary investigation of pandemic discourse. It focuses on one aspect of this discourse, namely the institutional, technological and regulatory conditions under which users of an English local newspaper are required to operate when posting comments on its website. It shows that users are subject to a high degree of oversight and control which is justified by the publishers on the grounds of enforcing civility and eliminating “toxicity” but which risks exercising a chilling effect on free expression at a time of international crisis where this is seen as being under attack in many parts of the world.