Science· 2015Q1
Exposure to ideologically diverse news and opinion on Facebook
- 3,199citations
- Q1SCImago
- 2015year
Short summary
On Facebook, users' own choices, rather than the platform's algorithm, are the primary driver in limiting their exposure to ideologically diverse news and opinions.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Key points
- User choices, not algorithms, are the main factor limiting exposure to diverse content on Facebook.
- 10.1 million U.S. Facebook users' interactions with socially shared news were analyzed.
- Heterogeneous friend networks provide potential for cross-cutting content exposure.
- Users' click-through behavior was more influential than algorithmic ranking in limiting diversity.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
Exposure to news, opinion, and civic information increasingly occurs through social media. How do these online networks influence exposure to perspectives that cut across ideological lines? Using deidentified data, we examined how 10.1 million U.S. Facebook users interact with socially shared news. We directly measured ideological homophily in friend networks and examined the extent to which heterogeneous friends could potentially expose individuals to cross-cutting content. We then quantified the extent to which individuals encounter comparatively more or less diverse content while interacting via Facebook's algorithmically ranked News Feed and further studied users' choices to click through to ideologically discordant content. Compared with algorithmic ranking, individuals' choices played a stronger role in limiting exposure to cross-cutting content.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Science, 2015 · DOI ↗
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Field: Communication
CommunicationSocial Sciences