2016/09/16 by Jonathan Bright, Bright, Jonathan
Physics and Astronomy · Social Sciences · #Electoral Systems and Political Participation #FOS: Computer and information sciences #FOS: Physical sciences #Opinion Dynamics and Social Influence #Physics and Society (physics.soc-ph) #Social Media and Politics #Social and Information Networks (cs.SI)
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1609.05003
openalex publication_date 2016/09/16 · openalex created_date 2022/10/06 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The emergence of politically driven divisions in online discussion networks\nhas attracted a wealth of literature, but also one which has thus far been\nlargely limited to single country studies. Hence whilst there is good evidence\nthat these networks do divide and fragment into what are often described as\n"echo chambers", we know little about the factors which might explain this\ndivision or make networks more or less fragmented, as studies have been limited\nto a small number of political groupings with limited possibilities for\nsystematic comparison.\n This paper seeks to remedy this deficit, by providing a systematic large\nscale study of fragmentation on Twitter which considers discussion networks\nsurrounding 90 different political parties in 23 different countries. It shows\nthat political party groupings which are further apart in ideological terms\ninteract less, and that individuals and parties which sit at the extreme ends\nof the ideological scale are particularly likely to form echo chambers. Indeed,\nexchanges between centrist parties who sit on different sides of the left-right\ndivide are more likely than communication between centrist and extremist\nparties who are, notionally, from the same ideological wing. In light of the\nresults, theory about exposure to different ideological viewpoints online is\ndiscussed and enhanced.\n