How digital media drive affective polarization through partisan sorting

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Journal Year: 2022, Volume and Issue: 119(42)

Published: Oct. 10, 2022

Politics has in recent decades entered an era of intense polarization. Explanations have implicated digital media, with the so-called echo chamber remaining a dominant causal hypothesis despite growing challenge by empirical evidence. This paper suggests that this mounting evidence provides not only reason to reject but also foundation for alternative mechanism. To propose such mechanism, draws on literatures affective polarization, and opinion dynamics. From polarization literature, we follow move from seeing as diverging issue positions rooted sorting: alignment differences which is effectively dividing electorate into two increasingly homogeneous megaparties. explain rise sorting, dynamics media research present model essentially turns its head: it isolation opposing views drives precisely fact bring us interact outside our local bubble. When individuals locally, outcome stable plural patchwork cross-cutting conflicts. By encouraging nonlocal interaction, drive conflicts along partisan lines, thus effacing counterbalancing effects heterogeneity. The result even if individual interaction leads convergence. polarize through creating maelstrom more identities, beliefs, cultural preferences become drawn all-encompassing societal division.

Language: Английский

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Link recommendation algorithms and dynamics of polarization in online social networks

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Journal Year: 2021, Volume and Issue: 118(50)

Published: Dec. 6, 2021

Significance Polarization is rising while political debates are moving to online social platforms. In such settings, algorithms used recommend new connections users, through so-called link recommendation algorithms. Users often recommended based on structural similarity (e.g., nodes sharing many neighbors similar). We show that preferentially establishing links with structurally similar potentiates opinion polarization by stimulating network topologies well-defined communities (even in the absence of opinion-based rewiring). When networks composed react differently out-group contacts—either converging or polarizing—connecting dissimilar enhances moderate opinions. Our study sheds light impacts social-network dynamics and unveils avenues steer networks.

Language: Английский

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The dynamics of political polarization

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Journal Year: 2021, Volume and Issue: 118(50)

Published: Dec. 6, 2021

At present, there are no criteria to evaluate whether a coronavirus can cause pandemics with severe inflammation or just common colds. We provide possible answer by considering the virus not only as an infectious agent but reservoir of ...It is unclear how acute respiratory syndrome 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection leads strong ineffective inflammatory response that characterizes Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), amplified immune activation in diverse ...

Language: Английский

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Surveillance Capitalism or Democracy? The Death Match of Institutional Orders and the Politics of Knowledge in Our Information Civilization

Organization Theory, Journal Year: 2022, Volume and Issue: 3(3)

Published: July 1, 2022

Surveillance capitalism is what happened when US democracy stood down. Two decades later, it fails any reasonable test of responsible global stewardship digital information and communications. The abdication the world’s spaces to surveillance has become meta-crisis every republic because obstructs solutions all other crises. capitalist giants–Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft, their ecosystems–now constitute a sweeping political-economic institutional order that exerts oligopolistic control over most communication spaces, systems, processes. commodification human behavior operationalized in secret massive-scale extraction human-generated data foundation capitalism’s two-decade arc development. However, revenue derives from human, classic economic equation scrambled. Imperative operations entail accretions governance functions impose substantial social harms. Concentration power produces collateral concentrations powers. Oligopoly realm shades into oligarchy societal realm. Society’s ability respond these developments thwarted by category errors. Governance incursions harms such as AI or rampant disinformation are too frequently seen distinct crises siloed, each with its own specialists prescriptions, rather than understood organic effects causal operations. In contrast, this paper explores unified field Its four already visible stages development examined through lens on expanding effects, including wholesale destruction privacy, consequences blindness-by-design human-to-human communications, rise dominance epistemic inequality, novel achievements remote behavioral actuation Trump 2016 campaign, Apple-Google’s leverage infrastructure subjugate democratic governments desperate fight pandemic. Structurally, stage creates conditions constructs scaffolding for next, builds went before. Substantively, characterized three vectors accomplishment: operations, carve-outs, fresh These dimensions weave together across time architecture Later-stage revealed foundational-stage required human. context larger contest order—the only competing poses an existential threat. retains legitimate authority contradict, interrupt, abolish foundational unique advantages include inspire action necessary make, impose, enforce rule law. While liberal democracies have begun engage challenges regulating today’s privately owned I argue regulation institutionalized processes innately catastrophic societies cannot produce desired outcomes. perspective suggests effective contradiction aimed at eliminating later-stage harms, “disinformation,” depends upon abolition reinvention early-stage operationalize source which originate. clash orders death match politics knowledge century. antidemocratic imperatives zero-sum dynamic deepening propagates disorder deinstitutionalization. Without new public institutions, charters rights, legal frameworks purpose-built century, citizens march naked, easy prey who steal hunt data. Only one contesting will emerge rule, while drift deinstitutionalization, absorbed victor. Will contradictions ultimately defeat capitalism, suffer greater injury? It possible democracy. not both.

Language: Английский

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Polarized information ecosystems can reorganize social networks via information cascades

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Journal Year: 2021, Volume and Issue: 118(50)

Published: Dec. 6, 2021

Significance Many argue that partisan media coverage creates political polarization by pushing people’s opinions to extremes, but evidence is mixed. We instead propose can cause altering social connections and reorganizing networks along lines. Using computational modeling data, we explore how people may adjust their ties avoid the sharing behavior of friends who might be engaging with news from nonpreferred information sources. Our model suggests driven a large extent unfollowing, which gradually—and inadvertently—produce homogeneous online networks, known reduce exposure challenging encourage outgroup hostility. In this way, institutional reverberate through networked mass public.

Language: Английский

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Superdiversity

Published: Nov. 3, 2022

Superdiversity explores processes of diversification and the complex, emergent social configurations that now supersede prior forms diversity in societies around world. Migration plays a key role these processes, bringing changes not just social, cultural, religious, linguistic phenomena, but also ways phenomena combine with others like gender, age, legal status. The concept superdiversity has been adopted by scholars across sciences order to address variety forms, modes, outcomes diversification. Central this field is relationship between categorization organization, including stratification inequality. Increasingly complex categories "difference" have significant impacts scales, from entire individual identities. While often met simplifying stereotypes, threat narratives, expressions antagonism, encourages perspective on difference as comprising multiple flexible collective meanings, overlapping personal group A approach re-evaluation recognition multidimensional, unfixed, porous opposed views based hardened, one-dimensional thinking about groups. Diversification increasing complexity are bound continue, if intensify, light climate change. This will profound nature global migration, relations, inequalities. presents convincing case for recognizing new formations created changing migration patterns calls re-thinking public policy scientific approaches difference. introduction multidisciplinary be considerable interest students researchers range fields humanities sciences. Open Access version book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, made under Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.  

Language: Английский

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“I Don’t Think That’s True, Bro!” Social Corrections of Misinformation in India

The International Journal of Press/Politics, Journal Year: 2023, Volume and Issue: 29(2), P. 394 - 416

Published: Feb. 27, 2023

Fact-checks and corrections of falsehoods have emerged as effective ways to counter misinformation online. But in contexts with encrypted messaging applications (EMAs), must necessarily emanate from peers. Are such social effective? If so, how substantiated do corrective messages need be? To answer these questions, we evaluate the effect different types on persistence India ([Formula: see text]5,100). Using an online experiment, show that substantially reduce beliefs misinformation, including deeply anchored salient group identities. Importantly, positive effects are not systematically attenuated by partisan motivated reasoning, highlighting a striking difference Western contexts. We also find presence correction matters more relative sophisticated this is: substantiating source only improves its minority cases; besides, when effective, citing does drastically improve size their effect. These results implications for both users platforms speak countering developing countries rely private apps.

Language: Английский

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Temporal dynamics of coordinated online behavior: Stability, archetypes, and influence

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Journal Year: 2024, Volume and Issue: 121(20)

Published: May 6, 2024

Large-scale online campaigns, malicious or otherwise, require a significant degree of coordination among participants, which sparked interest in the study coordinated behavior . State-of-the-art methods for detecting perform static analyses, disregarding temporal dynamics coordination. Here, we carry out dynamic analysis behavior. To reach our goal, build multiplex network and community detection to identify groups users that exhibited behaviors time. We find i) communities (CCs) feature variable degrees instability; ii) analyses are needed account such instability, results can be unreliable scarcely representative unstable communities; iii) some exhibit distinct archetypal have important practical implications; iv) content characteristics contribute explaining why leave join CCs. Our demonstrate advantages open up new directions research on unfolding debates, strategies CCs, patterns influence.

Language: Английский

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Quantum-Mechanical Modelling of Asymmetric Opinion Polarisation in Social Networks

Information, Journal Year: 2024, Volume and Issue: 15(3), P. 170 - 170

Published: March 20, 2024

We propose a quantum-mechanical model that represents human system of beliefs as the quantised energy levels physical system. This novel perspective on opinion dynamics, recreating broad range experimental and real-world data exhibit an asymmetry radicalisation. In particular, demonstrates phenomena pronounced conservatism versus mild liberalism when individuals are exposed to opposing views, mirroring recent findings polarisation via social media exposure. Advancing this model, we establish robust framework integrates elements from physics, psychology, behavioural science, decision-making theory, philosophy. also emphasise inherent advantages quantum approach over traditional models, suggesting number new directions for future research work models cognition decision-making.

Language: Английский

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Climate and biodiversity perceptions amid the European energy crisis: shifting social media narratives

Sustainability Science, Journal Year: 2025, Volume and Issue: unknown

Published: March 28, 2025

Abstract Public support for addressing the sustainability crisis is crucial mainstreaming environmental issues into policymaking. Recently, escalating impacts of an energy have sparked debates over European governance, influencing policymaking on climate and biodiversity goals. Understanding how public attention towards mediated by social media during crises can provide insights processes opinion formation. We investigated patterns, narrative shifts, sentiment regarding concerning governance X (formerly Twitter), between 2021 2023. employed issue–attention cycle framework combined quantitative methods with qualitative thematic analysis. found limited in suggesting low engagement interconnected dimensions crisis. Climate were mainly linked to relation transition from fossil fuels renewables. Attention fluctuated time following three waves salient themes: unfolding crisis, geopolitical instability, socio-economic concerns. Geopolitical events elicited a sense urgency accelerating transition. However, (high prices) aroused critical views transition, reflecting emerging discourses against decarbonization EU. Limited may reinforce perception that these are unrelated driving uncoordinated, even contradictory, sectorial policies. The construction saliency around polarized framing push opinions policies challenging reconciliation environmental, economic, imperatives sustainability.

Language: Английский

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