Filter Bubbles, Echo Chambers, and Fake News: How Social Media Conditions Individuals to Be Less Critical of Political Misinformation

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Samuel C. Rhodes
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Echo Chambers ◽  
Filter Bubbles

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.

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.

scholarly journals Combating Fake News, Misinformation, and Machine Learning Generated Fakes: Insight's from the Islamic Ethical Tradition

ICR Journal ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 189-212
Author(s):  
Talat Zubair ◽  
Amana Raquib ◽  
Junaid Qadir
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Deep Learning ◽  
World Wide ◽  
Security And Privacy ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Islamic Ethics ◽  
The World ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Filter Bubbles

The growing trend of sharing and acquiring news through social media platforms and the World Wide Web has impacted individuals as well as societies, spreading misinformation and disinformation. This trend—along with rapid developments in the field of machine learning, particularly with the emergence of techniques such as deep learning that can be used to generate data—has grave political, social, ethical, security, and privacy implications for society. This paper discusses the technologies that have led to the rise of problems such as fake news articles, filter bubbles, social media bots, and deep-fake videos, and their implications, while providing insights from the Islamic ethical tradition that can aid in mitigating them. We view these technologies and artifacts through the Islamic lens, concluding that they violate the commandment of spreading truth and countering falsehood. We present a set of guidelines, with reference to Qur‘anic and Prophetic teachings and the practices of the early Muslim scholars, on countering deception, putting forward ideas on developing these technologies while keeping Islamic ethics in perspective.

Gated Communities of the Digitised Mind

2020 ◽  
pp. 104-118
Author(s):  
Thorsten Brønholt
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Gated Communities ◽  
Gated Community ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Original Analysis ◽  
Echo Chambers ◽  
Filter Bubbles

Brønholt here introduces the concept of gated communities of the digitised mind. These draw on the notions of echo chambers and filter bubbles to suggest that there are regions for at least some of us that function in the same way as a gated community in which we only mix with those least likely to challenge our views. He supports this argument with original analysis of 15 Danish politicians which summarises the results from semi-structured interviews with the respondents, and an analysis of their personal social media (Facebook and Twitter) feeds, as well as identical Google Searches on their private devices.

Echo Chambers, Fake News, and Social Epistemology

2021 ◽  
pp. 206-227
Author(s):  
Jennifer Lackey
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Social Epistemology ◽  
Single Source ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Donald Trump ◽  
Fox News ◽  
News Sources ◽  
Echo Chambers ◽  
Echo Chamber

A familiar criticism of Donald Trump is that, in watching only Fox News and similar news sources, he is creating a dangerous echo chamber for himself. Echo chambers are said to be responsible for a host of today’s problems, including the degradation of democracy. This diagnosis is fundamentally incorrect, and this chapter examines the two dominant explanations of the distinctively epistemic problem with echo chambers and shows that each is wanting. Echo chambers, by themselves, are not epistemically problematic. Echo chambers are characterized in purely structural terms, but what is needed to capture what is wrong with Trump’s exposure to only Fox News is content-sensitive. It is not that Trump is relying on a single source for news, but that he is relying on one that is unreliable. Finally, the chapter calls attention to the challenge of social media bots and the role of non-ideal social epistemology.

Free speech, politics, and government

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald M. Baecker
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Free Speech ◽  
Digital Transmission ◽  
Political Campaigns ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Web Content ◽  
Politics And Government ◽  
Filter Bubbles ◽  
Legal Frameworks

Politics and government are undergoing dramatic changes through the advent of new technology. The early developers of community networks (mentioned in Section 1.2) had hopeful visions of information technology (IT)-facilitating participatory democracy. Yet the most memorable visions have been literary dystopias, where surveillance is omnipresent and governments have absolute control. We shall begin by highlighting some of these important writings. We shall then consider a current and present topic—the cultural and legal frameworks governing free speech and other forms of expression on the internet. We review several kinds of ‘undesirable’ speech that test our commitment to free speech—messages that are viewed as obscene, hateful, seditious, or encouraging of terrorism. Next, we examine methods governments worldwide use to censor web content and prevent digital transmission of messages of which they disapprove, as well as a similar role for social media firms in what is now known as content moderation. We shall also mention one new form of rampant and very harmful internet speech— fake news. Fake news becomes especially troubling when it is released into and retransmitted widely into filter bubbles that select these messages and echo chambers that focus and sensationalize such points of view to the exclusion of other contradictory ideas. The prevalence and dangers of fake news became obvious during post facto analyses of the 2016 US presidential campaign. The internet and social media enable greater civic participation, which is usually called e-democracy or civic tech. Most such uses of social media are relatively benign, as in online deliberations about the desired size of a bond issue, or internet lobbying to get libraries to stay open longer during the summer. However, for more significant issues, such as violations of fundamental human rights, or unpopular political decisions that incite public unrest, social media communications may facilitate political protest that can lead to political change. IT also plays a role in elections—social media can be used to mobilize the electorate and build enthusiasm for a candidate. Correspondingly, surveys and big data are used to target potential voters during political campaigns and to tailor specific messages to key voters.

scholarly journals The Function and Importance of Fact-Checking Organizations in the Era of Fake News

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (19) ◽  
pp. 140-160
Author(s):  
Recep Ünal ◽  
Alp Şahin Çiçeklioğlu
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
New Media ◽  
Digital Literacy ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
Digital Era ◽  
Fact Checking ◽  
Filter Bubbles ◽  
Depth Interviews

The recent increase in usage of concepts such as ‘fake news’ or ‘post-truth’ reveals the importance of digital literacy especially on social media. In the digital era, people’s views on different topics are attempted to be manipulated with disinformation and fake news. Fake content is rapidly replacing the reality among new media users. It is stated with concepts such as ‘filter bubbles’ and ‘echo chambers’ that there is a greater tendency for people to be fed with content that is ideologically appropriate to their own views and to believe in fake news in this content. This article analyzes the structure and functioning of fact-checking organizations in the context of preventing propagation of fake news and improving digital literacy. The research is based on content analysis of verification activities of the fact-checking organization Teyit.org, which is a member of International Fact-Checking Network in Turkey, between January 1 and June 31, 2018. By conducting in-depth interviews with the verification team, propagation of fake news on social networks, fact-checking processes and their methods of combating fake news are revealed. Our article found that fake content spreading specifically through the Internet predominantly consists of political issues.

ECHO CHAMBERS AND EPISTEMIC BUBBLES

Episteme ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 141-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Thi Nguyen
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Social Context ◽  
Belief System ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
The Other ◽  
Epistemic Virtue ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Echo Chambers ◽  
Echo Chamber ◽  
Epistemic Structure

ABSTRACTDiscussion of the phenomena of post-truth and fake news often implicates the closed epistemic networks of social media. The recent conversation has, however, blurred two distinct social epistemic phenomena. An epistemic bubble is a social epistemic structure in which other relevant voices have been left out, perhaps accidentally. An echo chamber is a social epistemic structure from which other relevant voices have been actively excluded and discredited. Members of epistemic bubbles lack exposure to relevant information and arguments. Members of echo chambers, on the other hand, have been brought to systematically distrust all outside sources. In epistemic bubbles, other voices are not heard; in echo chambers, other voices are actively undermined. It is crucial to keep these phenomena distinct. First, echo chambers can explain the post-truth phenomena in a way that epistemic bubbles cannot. Second, each type of structure requires a distinct intervention. Mere exposure to evidence can shatter an epistemic bubble, but may actually reinforce an echo chamber. Finally, echo chambers are much harder to escape. Once in their grip, an agent may act with epistemic virtue, but social context will pervert those actions. Escape from an echo chamber may require a radical rebooting of one's belief system.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document