New research shows how Facebook’s algorithm may influence political news consumption, impacting both conservatives and liberals.

Research insights: The studies attempt to illuminate the workings of Facebook’s algorithms and their influence on political discourse.
* The investigations were launched in collaboration with Meta, Facebook and Instagram’s parent company, and 17 independent researchers.
* The researchers studied social media usage surrounding the 2020 election but had limited insight into the algorithms’ inner workings.
* The studies reveal that liberals and conservatives get their political news from distinct, separate sources on Facebook, with little overlap.

Algorithm impact: The studies highlight the power of Facebook’s algorithms in shaping users’ online experience.
* The research suggests that changes to the platform’s algorithm can significantly alter what users see and how they interact on the site.
* This influence could extend to the political information users consume, potentially fueling polarization.
* The researchers found higher levels of audience segregation for political news links posted by pages and groups rather than friends.

Experimental findings: The researchers also tested the effects of altering elements of the news feed.
* Reducing the amount of content from like-minded sources did not change users’ political attitudes but exposed them to more diversified political views and reduced exposure to misinformation.
* Replacing the algorithm-controlled feed with posts in reverse chronological order significantly changed the kind of content users saw and their engagement patterns.

Future implications: These studies raise critical questions about social media’s role in political polarization and democracy.
* Despite the findings, the researchers caution against drawing definitive conclusions about the role of social media in polarization, as the studies’ short duration may limit their representativeness.
* The research project plans to publish more studies on political advertising, misinformation spread, and other topics.

View original article on NPR

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