Testing popular news discourse on the “echo chamber” effect: Does political polarisation occur among those relying on social media as their primary politics news source?

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5210/fm.v24i6.9632

Keywords:

Echo chamber, filter bubble, political polarization, digital news consumption, social media, social news, EU politics

Abstract

Since 2016, online social networks (OSNs), especially their “big data” algorithms, have been intensively blamed in popular news discourse for acting as echo chambers. These chambers entrap like-minded voters in closed ideological circles that cause serious damage to democratic processes. This study examines this “echo chamber” argument through the rather divisive case of EU politics among EU citizens. Based on an exploratory secondary analysis of the Eurobarometer 86.2 survey dataset, we investigate whether the reliance on OSNs as a primary EU political news source can lead people to more polarisation in EU-related political beliefs and attitudes than a reliance on traditional media. We found little evidence for this polarisation, lending credence to a rejection of social media’s “echo chamber” effect.

Author Biographies

An Nguyen, Bournemouth University

An Nguyen is Associate Professor of Journalism and Associate Director of the Centre for the Study of Journalism, Culture and Community, Bournemouth University, UK. He has published four books and about 40 papers (journal articles, book chapters and industry reports) in several areas: digital journalism, digital news consumption/citizenship, citizen journalism, science journalism in the post-truth era, the use/misuse of data and statistics in the news media, and news and global developments. 

Hong Tien Vu, Kansas University

Hong Tien Vu is an assistant professor at the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications, University of Kansas. He received his doctoral degree from the School of Journalism, University of Texas at Austin. His research focuses on international communication, development communication, and the influence of technology on mass communication.

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Published

2019-06-01

How to Cite

Nguyen, A., & Vu, H. T. (2019). Testing popular news discourse on the “echo chamber” effect: Does political polarisation occur among those relying on social media as their primary politics news source?. First Monday, 24(6). https://doi.org/10.5210/fm.v24i6.9632