Mahrt, Merja: Beyond Filter Bubbles and Echo Chambers. The Integrative Potential of the Internet.

Publizistik ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-101
Author(s):  
Wolfgang Schweiger
Keyword(s):  
The Internet ◽  
Echo Chambers ◽  
Filter Bubbles

The paradox of pluralism: A key to interpreting the online public sphere in the time of ‘encastellation’

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 141-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriele Giacomini
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Political System ◽  
Selective Exposure ◽  
The Internet ◽  
New Concepts ◽  
Echo Chambers ◽  
Filter Bubbles

This viewpoint makes a theoretical effort to label the organization of the virtual sphere under new concepts: ‘encastellation’ and the ‘paradox of pluralism’. The former is a metaphorical synthesis of already-known concepts (selective exposure, polarization, homophily, echo chambers and filter bubbles). In the second case, we emphasize the existence of a ‘paradox of online pluralism’: the internet has increased the possibility for everyone to make their voice heard (in quantitative terms), but at the same time it appears to also be increasing the distance between voices, putting in jeopardy the achievement of the aims of the pluralist political system (in qualitative terms). In conclusion, we express doubts about the feasibility of the deliberative vision of democracy in the current virtual sphere.

The Internet and Epistemic Agency

2021 ◽  
pp. 389-409
Author(s):  
Hanna Gunn ◽  
Michael Patrick Lynch
Keyword(s):  
The Internet ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Diverse Range ◽  
Epistemic Agency ◽  
Epistemic Virtues ◽  
Echo Chambers ◽  
Online Spaces ◽  
Lead Users ◽  
Filter Bubbles

In this chapter, Hanna Gunn and Michael Patrick Lynch examine the connection between epistemic agency and the internet. They identify two conditions that are true of responsible epistemic agency: first, responsible epistemic agents aim to develop epistemic virtues, merit, and capacities that help them to responsibly change their epistemic environment, as well as the capacities that enable them to recognize and respect these epistemic traits in others. Second, responsible epistemic agents treat other epistemic agents with a form of respect that demonstrates a willingness to learn from them. Gunn and Lynch then show that the ways in which the internet makes information more widely available can also undermine our ability to be responsible epistemic agents. For instance, the personalization of online spaces can unwittingly lead users into echo chambers and filter-bubbles and away from a diverse range of perspectives, and fake news and information pollution can make for a hostile online epistemic environment.

Epilogue

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert E. Goodin ◽  
Kai Spiekermann
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
European Union ◽  
Majority Rule ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Donald Trump ◽  
Epistemic Democracy ◽  
The Core ◽  
Echo Chambers ◽  
Filter Bubbles

This chapter reflects on the election of Donald Trump and the vote of the British electorate in favour of ‘Brexit’ from the European Union. While we refrain from judging the outcomes of these votes, we do discuss concerns pertaining to the lack of truthfulness in both campaigns. After rehearsing the lies on which the Trump and Brexit campaigns were based, we consider different explanations as to why these campaigns were nevertheless successful, and where this leaves the argument for epistemic democracy. Particularly worrisome are tendencies towards ‘epistemic insouciance’, ‘epistemic malevolence’, and ‘epistemic agnosticism’. We also consider the problematic influence of social media in terms of echo chambers and filter bubbles. The core argument in favour of epistemic democracy is that the pooling of votes by majority rule has epistemically beneficial properties, assuming certain conditions. If these assumptions are not met, or are systematically corrupted, then epistemic democracy is under threat.

Digital News and the Consumption of Political Information

2019 ◽  
pp. 248-262
Author(s):  
Silvia Majó-Vázquez ◽  
Sandra González-Bailón
Keyword(s):  
The Internet ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
Demographic Groups ◽  
News Consumption ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Digital News ◽  
Filter Bubbles ◽  
Media Systems ◽  
Reported Data ◽  
The Web

The Internet has fundamentally changed how people access and use news. As Dutton and others (Chapter 13, this volume) note, there are concerns that the Internet leads us to get stuck in “echo chambers” or “filter bubbles”—limiting our access to points of view that might challenge our preexisting beliefs. This chapter introduces a network approach to analyzing news consumption in the digital age. The authors explain how we can compare patterns of news consumption across demographic groups, countries, and digital platforms, and determine if there are differences across groups of users and media systems. Measuring news consumption has long been difficult owing to the limitations of self-reported data, so this chapter is notable in offering a novel approach that leverages the digital traces that people leave behind when navigating the Web.

The Internet and Access to Information about Politics

2019 ◽  
pp. 228-247 ◽  
Author(s):  
William H. Dutton ◽  
Bianca C. Reisdorf ◽  
Grant Blank ◽  
Elizabeth Dubois ◽  
Laleah Fernandez
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Presidential Election ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Internet Users ◽  
Political Implications ◽  
The Us ◽  
Echo Chamber ◽  
Us Presidential Election ◽  
Filter Bubble ◽  
Filter Bubbles

Concern over filter bubbles, echo chambers, and misinformation on the Internet are not new. However, as noted by Howard and Bradshaw (Chapter 12), events around the 2016 US presidential election and the UK’s Brexit referendum brought these concerns up again to near-panic levels, raising questions about the political implications of the algorithms that drive search engines and social media. To address these issues, the authors conducted an extensive survey of Internet users in Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, and the US, asking respondents how they use search, social media, and other media for getting information about politics, and what difference these media have made for them. Their findings demonstrate that search is one among many media gateways and outlets deployed by those interested in politics, and that Internet users with an interest in politics and search skills are unlikely to be trapped in a filter bubble, or cocooned in a political echo chamber.

scholarly journals From “Troll Factories” to “Littering the Information Space”: Control Strategies Over the Russian Internet

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 16-26
Author(s):  
Ilya Kiriya
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Control Strategies ◽  
The State ◽  
Information Space ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Structural Level ◽  
State Information ◽  
Russian State ◽  
Legislative Regulation ◽  
Echo Chambers

This article explores aspects, transformations, and dynamics of the ideological control of the internet in Russia. It analyses the strategies of actors across the Russian online space which contribute to this state-driven ideological control. The tightening of legislative regulation over the last 10 years to control social media and digital self-expression in Russia is relatively well studied. However, there is a lack of research on how the control of the internet works at a structural level. Namely, how it isolates “echo chambers” of oppositional discourses while also creating a massive flood of pro-state information and opinions. This article argues that the strategy of the Russian state to control the internet over the last 10 years has changed considerably. From creating troll factories and bots to distort communication in social media, the state is progressively moving towards a strategy of creating a huge state-oriented information flood to “litter” online space. Such a strategy relies on the generation of news resources which attract large volumes of traffic, which leads to such “trash information” dominating the internet.

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