Arrr, ye scurvy dogs! Facebook hath welcomed these scholars! What they discovered be a tangled web of social media and echo chambers, aye!
2023-07-27
Arr, thar be a grand tale o' how Facebook did shape th' news that scurvy dogs saw afore th' 2020 election. This here study did reveal a mighty divide, me hearties, with them conservative users findin' themselves locked away, surrounded by the treachery o' misinformation. Aye, 'twas a sad sight, indeed!
In a jolly exploration of the Facebook phenomenon, mateys, a groundbreaking study has discovered how this mighty platform shaped the news users feasted their eyes upon in the build-up to the 2020 election. Arrr, it turns out that Facebook caused a good ol' separation of ideologies, leading to a glorious divide in the political news conservative users encountered. Those scallywags were more walled off than their liberal counterparts and were served up a hefty portion of misinformation, aye.Armed with aggregated data from a staggering 208 million landlubber users in the U.S., the clever researchers uncovered that conservative users had a taste for news sources that be deemed "untrustworthy." These scurvy dogs couldn't resist the allure of less reliable sources, while their liberal shipmates had a more discerning palate for trustworthy news. Aye, a rather lopsided feast it was!
But fear not, me hearties, for this study also found that the conservative users didn't sail these treacherous waters alone. No, no, they had their trusty shipmates, their fellow conservative users, by their side. These merry bunches of scallywags reinforced each other's beliefs and indulged in their own echo chamber, not venturing too far into the liberal seas, lest they be swept away by a tidal wave of opposing views.
So, me buckos, it seems that Facebook played a mighty role in shaping the news landscape during the election, fostering a delightful segregation of ideologies. And let us not forget the cherry on top: conservative users got their fair share of misinformation, served to them on a silver platter. Ahoy, what a time to be alive!