ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Artif. Intell.
Sec. Natural Language Processing
Understanding User Perceptions of DeepSeek: Insights from Sentiment, Topic and Network Analysis Using a Reddit-Based Study
Provisionally accepted
Naisarg Patel1
Rajesh Sharma2,3
Prakash Lingasamy3,4
Vino Sundararajan1
Sajitha Lulu S1*
Vijayachitra Modhukur3- 1VIT University, Vellore, India
- 2Plaksha University, Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar, India
- 3Tartu Ulikool, Tartu, Estonia
- 4Nalam Biosciences OU, Tartu, Estonia
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The emergence of DeepSeek, an open-source generative artificial intelligence (AI) model from China, sparked a wave of user-driven discussions on Reddit, highlighting broader issues related to technological advancement, transparency, and geopolitical trust. This research examines 46,649 posts and comments from the r/deepseek subreddit during the model's launch period, utilizing sentiment and emotion analysis, topic modeling, hyperlink tracking, and network mapping to explore how Reddit users interpreted DeepSeek in real time. Although positive sentiment prevailed, focusing on the model's performance, accessibility, and open-source nature, users also voiced concerns about censorship, surveillance, and infrastructure limitations. Topic and hyperlink analysis uncovered a cross-platform ecosystem of technical references, while network patterns indicated dispersed yet dialogic engagement across emotional and thematic lines. This study represents one of the first integrated applications of sentiment, topic, and network analysis to examine public perceptions of Deepseek, offering a comprehensive computational perspective on user discussions. Our study suggests Reddit users engaged in evaluative and interpretive practices, collaboratively interpreting DeepSeek as both a technical entity and a political artifact. These findings enhance the understanding of how AI is socially constructed in platformed environments, emphasizing the role of everyday discourse in shaping the cultural reception, legitimacy, and envisioned futures of algorithmic systems.
Keywords: deepseek, Generative AI, Reddit, Natural Language Processing, sentiment analysis, Topic Modeling, Network analysis
Received: 12 Sep 2025; Accepted: 08 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Patel, Sharma, Lingasamy, Sundararajan, Lulu S and Modhukur. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Sajitha Lulu S
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