(2018-08-28) This Is What Filter Bubbles Actually Look Like

John Kelly and Camille François: This is what filter bubbles actually look like. In this Twitter map (below) of the US political landscape, accounts that follow one another are clustered together, and they are color-coded by the kinds of content they commonly share. At first glance, it might seem reassuring: although there are clear echo chambers, there is also an intertwined network of elected officials, the press, and political and policy professionals. There are extremes, but they are mediated through a robust middle.

However, as the following diagrams will show, the middle is a lot weaker than it looks, and this makes public discourse vulnerable both to extremists at home and to manipulation by outside actors such as Russia.

The center of the political universe is far quieter than the polarized wings

It also shows divisions being amplified by bots on both sides: we see clearly automated activity, with accounts churning out a hundred tweets a day or more on a common schedule

media world is bifurcated too

The articles that get the most tweets represent the most partisan views on both left and right. (Culture War)

The polarization seen in the diagrams above is fertile ground for misinformation operations such as the one Russia conducted to influence the 2016 US election.

Instead of trying to force their messages into the mainstream, these adversaries target polarized communities and “embed” fake accounts within them.