Diskursive Risikokonstruktionen in Wikipedia: am Beispiel von Parabenen

This paper investigates discursive constructions of health risks in two Wikipedia articles dealing with parabens, one in German and one in English. The aim of the paper is first to provide insight into the way health risks in connection with the use of parabens in cosmetics, food and other products are constructed and deconstructed discursively and second, to discuss possibilities and limitations of user generated risk communication in social media. Based on the framework of critical discourse analysis, the study covers the three dimensions text, discursive practice and social practice.