"Algorithmic news recommender systems (NRS) are present in many digital platforms. A decade after Eli Pariser introduced the infamous ‘filter bubble’ hypothesis, empirical evidence challenges the assumption that recommendation algorithms predominantly create homogeneous opinion environments. Stu
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dies indicate that algorithmic platform use may amplify users’ political polarization. Whether the link between platform use and polarization can be causally explained by ideological news filtering, however, is still an unanswered question as rigid causal designs to test the notion of ‘filter bubble’ effects are still largely lacking. To fill this gap, we conducted two experimental studies in Germany (n = 1,786) and the U.S. (n = 1,306) with running NRS selecting news items based on the political orientation and political interest of its users. For both national contexts, results indicate that an NRS with a bias towards users’ political preferences increases ideological polarization among politically moderate individuals, supporting the notion of ‘filter bubble’ effects for this group. No such pattern could be found for affective polarization. Yet, in the German data, affective polarization among moderate users was reduced by a politically balanced NRS (as compared to a randomized news diet), while the same NRS increased affective polarization of politically extreme participants. We discuss the democratic implications of these findings against the backdrop of increasing digital news consumption." (Abstract)
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"This literature review examines, specifically, social science work presenting evidence concerning the existence, causes, and effect of online echo chambers and consider what related research can tell about scientific discussions online and how they might shape public understanding of science and th
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e role of science in society." (Executive summary, page 4)
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"The paper examines ideological segregation among Ukrainian users in online environments, using as a case study partisan news communities on Vkontakte, the largest online platform in post-communist states. Its findings suggest that despite their insignificant numbers, partisan news communities attra
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ct substantial attention from Ukrainian users and can encourage the formation of isolated ideological cliques – or ‘echo chambers’ – that increase societal polarisation. The paper also investigates factors that predict users’ interest in partisan content and establishes that the region of residence is the key predictor of selective consumption of pro-Ukrainian or pro-Russian partisan news content." (Abstract)
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"In diesem Buch werden in 18 Kapiteln Phänomene der Kommunikation im digitalen Zeitalter vorgestellt und die psychologischen Hintergründe anhand von wissenschaftlichen Theorien und Analysen erörtert. Viele Menschen sind verunsichert durch eine Medienwelt, die unausgewogen erscheint (Fake News, L
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genpresse), in der man durch Clickbait manipuliert wird und in der Social Bots bald nicht mehr einfach von echten Chatpartnern zu unterscheiden sind. Abseits aller Hysterie erhalten die Leserinnen und Leser Einblick in faszinierende Erkenntnisse der Psychologie, mit deren Hilfe sich die schillernden Phänomene der Kommunikation im digitalen Zeitalter besser verstehen lassen." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"Concerns surrounding the threats that digital platforms pose to the functioning of Western liberal democracies have grown since the 2016 U.S. election. Yet despite a preponderance of academic work in this area, the precise nature of these threats, empirical solutions for their redress, and their re
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lationship to the wider digital political economy remain undertheorized. This article addresses these gaps with a semisystematic literature review that identifies and defines four prominent threats—fake news, filter bubbles/echo chambers, online hate speech, and surveillance—and constructs a typology of “workable solutions” for combating these threats that highlights the tendency to silo technical, regulatory, or culturally embedded approaches." (Abstract)
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"At the heart of the challenges to democracy posed by digital media are three core problems: 1. Platform monopolies: two or three corporations control not only our means of communication, but also the content which is distributed, both of which are core aspects of our democracy. Whilst the market po
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wer and global mobility of these companies make it possible for them to avoid national regulatory measures, either by moving operations elsewhere or simply ignoring them; 2. Algorithmic opacity: algorithmic engines are using huge quantities of personal data to make ever more precise predictions about what we want to see and hear, and having ever increasing influence over what we think and do, with little transparency about how they work or accountability for their impact; and 3. Attention economy: the dominant business model of digital media prioritises the amplification of whatever content is best at grabbing our attention, while avoiding responsibility for the impact that content has on our collective wellbeing and our democracy. The negative impact is brutally clear from both the literature and the world around us." (Introduction, page 14)
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"Fake news, post-truth and filter bubbles are other people’s problems, not ours…: 65% think that other people live in a bubble on the internet, mostly looking for opinions they already agree with – but only 34% say they live in their own bubble; 63% are confident they can identify fake news -
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but only 41% think average person can; 58% think they’re better than average at spotting fake news, only 28% think they’re not; 60% think other people don’t care about facts any more, they just believe what they want; 59% think they have a better understanding of social realities like crime rates than the average person, only 29% think they don’t." (Page 3)
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"This report provides a new framework for policy-makers, legislators, researchers, technologists and practitioners working on the theoretical and practical challenges related to mis-, dis- and mal-information — the three elements of information disorder. While the historical impact of rumours and
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fabricated content have been well documented, the complexity and scale of information pollution in our digitally-connected, increasingly polarised world presents an unprecedented challenge. There is an immediate need to work collaboratively on workable solutions and this report provides a framework for the different stakeholders involved in research, policy discussions, and technical innovations connected to this phenomenon of information disorder." (Back cover)
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