scholarly journals Reasoning about Political Bias in Content Moderation

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (09) ◽  
pp. 13669-13672 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shan Jiang ◽  
Ronald E. Robertson ◽  
Christo Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Community Health ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Hate Speech ◽  
Logical Reasoning ◽  
Hybrid Process ◽  
The Political ◽  
Propensity Scoring ◽  
Political Bias ◽  
Left And Right

Content moderation, the AI-human hybrid process of removing (toxic) content from social media to promote community health, has attracted increasing attention from lawmakers due to allegations of political bias. Hitherto, this allegation has been made based on anecdotes rather than logical reasoning and empirical evidence, which motivates us to audit its validity. In this paper, we first introduce two formal criteria to measure bias (i.e., independence and separation) and their contextual meanings in content moderation, and then use YouTube as a lens to investigate if the political leaning of a video plays a role in the moderation decision for its associated comments. Our results show that when justifiable target variables (e.g., hate speech and extremeness) are controlled with propensity scoring, the likelihood of comment moderation is equal across left- and right-leaning videos.

scholarly journals USE OF CYBER HATE IN THE ELECTORAL CAMPAIGNS BY THE MAINSTREAM POLITICAL PARTIES OF PAKISTAN

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 325-332
Author(s):  
Ayesha Siddiqua
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Hate Speech ◽  
Freedom Of Expression ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
The Political ◽  
Electoral Campaigns ◽  
General Elections ◽  
Cyber Ethics

Purpose of the study: The purpose of the study is to examine the use of cyber hate by the Pakistan’s mainstream political parties. The issue of poll rigging in Pakistan’s General Elections 2013 is examined through discourse analysis of the related tweets. The study also aims at comprehending the extent to which cyber ethics were violated during the digital electoral campaigns. Methodology: Discourse Analysis of the tweets generated from the official Twitter handles of PTI and PMLN leaders was conducted to examine the use of cyber hate by the Pakistan’s mainstream political parties. Violation of cyber ethics was explored through the qualitative interviews of 8 purposively selected social media managers of PMLN, PPP, and PTI. Main Findings: The findings indicated that party leadership/politicians used the elements of cyber hate which included abusive language, provocation, and character assassination against their opponents during the digital electoral campaign in general and regarding the poll rigging issue of Pakistan’s General Elections 2013 in specific. Resultantly the tweets using strong adjectives and metaphors on the political opponents were more frequently re-tweeted and attracted more favorites. Applications of this study: The study can be helpful in various cross-disciplinary areas that focus on the examination of the usage and impact of social media and cyberspace as a medium for hate speech dissemination. The study can significantly contribute to areas related to cyber ethics, digital electoral campaigning, freedom of expression, and political opinion building. Novelty/Originality of this study: The study’s originality lies in its attempt to unfold the foundations of digital electoral campaigning in Pakistan and how cyberhate was used as a pivotal tool for advancing the political narratives in a fragile democratic society.

Depolarization through social media use: Evidence from dual identifiers in Hong Kong

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (8) ◽  
pp. 1339-1358 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tetsuro Kobayashi
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Hong Kong ◽  
Political Participation ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Social Identities ◽  
The Political ◽  
Social Media Use ◽  
Dual Identities ◽  
Use Of Social Media

Despite the concern that partisan selectivity in the political use of social media leads to mass polarization, the empirical evidence is mixed at best. Given the possibility that these inconclusive findings are attributable to moderators in the process that have not been adequately studied, this article elaborates the roles played by different forms of social identities. By analyzing three datasets collected in Hong Kong, where Chinese and Hong Kongese identities are constructed in a nonmutually exclusive way, this study demonstrates that (1) partisan selectivity in media use is reliably detected among those with single Hong Kongese identity, but not among those with dual identities of Hong Kongese and Chinese, (2) the political use of social media polarizes the attitudes and affects of single identifiers, whereas it has depolarizing effects on dual identifiers, and (3) these contrasting effects on polarization between single and dual identifiers have downstream consequences for political participation.

scholarly journals Digital Public Sphere and Geography: The Influence of Physical Location on Twitter’s Political Conversation

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 96-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreu Casero-Ripollés ◽  
Josep-Lluís Micó-Sanz ◽  
Míriam Díez-Bosch
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Hate Speech ◽  
Geographical Location ◽  
Negotiation Process ◽  
Machine Learning Techniques ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Debate ◽  
Political Conversation ◽  
The Government

Social media has instituted new parameters for the political conversation in the digital public sphere. Previous research had identified several of these new phenomena: political polarisation, hate speech discourses, and fake news, among others. However, little attention has been paid to the users’ geographical location, specifically to the role location plays in political discussion on social media, and to its further implications in the digital public sphere. A priori, we might think that on the digital landscape geographical restrictions no longer condition political debate, allowing increasingly diverse users to participate in, and influence, the discussion. To analyse this, machine learning techniques were used to study Twitter’s political conversation about the negotiation process for the formation of the government in Spain that took place between 2015 and 2016. A big data sample of 127,3 million tweets associated with three Spanish cities (Madrid, Barcelona, and Valencia) was used. The results show that the geographical location of the users directly affects the political conversation on Twitter, despite the dissolution of the physical restrictions that the online environment favours. Demographics, cultural factors, and proximity to the centres of political power are factors conditioning the structure of digital political debate. These findings are a novel contribution to the design of more effective political campaigns and strategies, and provide a better understanding of the dynamics of the digital public sphere provided by Twitter.

scholarly journals Left- and Right-Leaning News Organizations' Negative Tweets are More Likely to be Shared

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Bellovary ◽  
Nathaniel A. Young ◽  
Amit Goldenberg
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Negative Affect ◽  
Positive Affect ◽  
Political Orientation ◽  
The Political ◽  
News Content ◽  
News Organizations ◽  
Political Orientations ◽  
Left And Right

Negativity has historically dominated news content; however, little research has examined how news organizations use affect on social media, where content is generally positive. In the current project we ask a few questions: Do news organizations on Twitter use negative or positive language and which type of affect garners more engagement on social media? Does the political orientation of new organizations impact the affect expressed and engagement tweets receive on social media? The goal of this project is to examine these questions by investigating tweets of 24 left- and 20 right-leaning news organizations (140,358 tweets). Results indicated that negative affect was expressed more than positive affect. Additionally, negativity predicted engagement with news organizations’ tweets, but positivity did not. Finally, there were no differences in affect between left- and right-leaning political orientations. Overall, it appears that for news organizations, negativity is more frequent and more impactful than positivity.

Alternative truths and delegitimization pragmatic strategies around the 2018 Italian elections

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 293-320
Author(s):  
Benedetta Baldi ◽  
Ludovico Franco ◽  
Leonardo M. Savoia
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
New Media ◽  
Hate Speech ◽  
The Political ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Social Actors ◽  
Communicative Context ◽  
Pragmatic Strategies ◽  
Alternative Reading ◽  
Rhetorical Tools

Abstract In this paper we aim at analysing, from a pragmatic viewpoint, the rhetoric of delegitimization of the opponent in new media insofar as it triggers individual, uncontrolled and deep-rooted forms of communications. The communicative context is that of the political controversies and the propaganda around the Italian elections of March 2018. Accusations of fake news, hate speech and other delegitimizing rhetorical tools occur within the messages distributed on social media by politicians. We are specifically interested in illustrating and examining the disposition/standpoint of public social actors, of politicians in particular, toward the (delegitimizing) effects of the spreading of foul language, hate speech and fake news as instruments for re-shaping reality and introducing an alternative reading of facts.

Partisan media, untrustworthy news sites, and political misperceptions

2021 ◽  
pp. 146144482110333
Author(s):  
Brian E Weeks ◽  
Ericka Menchen-Trevino ◽  
Christopher Calabrese ◽  
Andreu Casas ◽  
Magdalena Wojcieszak
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Strong Evidence ◽  
Potential Role ◽  
The Political ◽  
False Beliefs ◽  
Political Beliefs ◽  
Political Bias ◽  
Internet Browser ◽  
American Adult ◽  
Partisan Media

This study investigates the potential role both untrustworthy and partisan websites play in misinforming audiences by testing whether actual exposure to these sites is associated with political misperceptions. Using a sample of American adult social media users, we match data from individuals’ Internet browser histories with a survey measuring the accuracy of political beliefs. We find that visits to partisan websites are at times related to misperceptions consistent with the political bias of the site. However, we do not find strong evidence that untrustworthy websites consistently relate to false beliefs. There is also little evidence that visits to less partisan, centrist news sites are associated with more accurate political beliefs about these issues, suggesting that exposure to politically neutral news is not necessarily the antidote to misinformation. Results suggest that focusing on partisan news sites—rather than untrustworthy sites—may be fruitful to understanding how media contribute to political misperceptions.

scholarly journals STRATEGI PENGAWASAN TERHADAP UJARAN KEBENCIAN DI MEDIA SOSIAL PADA PEMILU

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 99-116
Author(s):  
Dewi Anggraeni ◽  
Adrinoviarini Adrinoviarini
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Hate Speech ◽  
Group Discussion ◽  
The Political ◽  
False Information ◽  
Effective Strategies ◽  
Fertile Ground ◽  
Data Collection Technique ◽  
Gubernatorial Election ◽  
Taking Action

The political year is a fertile vehicle for disseminating news of hate speech, forms of intolerance, and false information (hoaxes) decorating the Indonesian social media universe. Election campaigns provide fertile ground for hate speech and incitement, especially on social media. This research aims to analyze and identify the prevalence of hate speech in the DKI Jakarta gubernatorial election by evaluating the regulations regarding hate speech on social media according to stakeholders and appropriate and effective strategies in preventing and taking action against hate speech violations in the Pilkada/Election. This type of research is descriptive qualitative, which portrays the phenomenon of the DKI Jakarta governor election in 2017, The data collection technique used was a focus group discussion by inviting several sources. The results of this study reveal that; Hate speech in 2017 on social media, especially Facebook, has increased in the momentum of the Pilkada. The ITE Law and SE / 06 / X / 2015 have been implemented by various stakeholders as an effort to prevent and prosecute hate speech offenders, although this has not been maximized due to the weak media literacy of Indonesian society itself. The case for the 2017 DKI Jakarta election as a prototype for the National Election. Therefore, election organizers need to pay special attention to monitoring social media during the election period.

scholarly journals Neutral bots probe political bias on social media

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wen Chen ◽  
Diogo Pacheco ◽  
Kai-Cheng Yang ◽  
Filippo Menczer
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
The Political ◽  
User Interactions ◽  
Political Bias ◽  
News Sources ◽  
Political Center ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Twitter Users ◽  
The Right ◽  
To Receive

AbstractSocial media platforms attempting to curb abuse and misinformation have been accused of political bias. We deploy neutral social bots who start following different news sources on Twitter, and track them to probe distinct biases emerging from platform mechanisms versus user interactions. We find no strong or consistent evidence of political bias in the news feed. Despite this, the news and information to which U.S. Twitter users are exposed depend strongly on the political leaning of their early connections. The interactions of conservative accounts are skewed toward the right, whereas liberal accounts are exposed to moderate content shifting their experience toward the political center. Partisan accounts, especially conservative ones, tend to receive more followers and follow more automated accounts. Conservative accounts also find themselves in denser communities and are exposed to more low-credibility content.

scholarly journals Penyalahgunaan Media Sosial Sebagai Alat Propaganda

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-76
Author(s):  
Rety Palupi
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
Hate Speech ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
The Political ◽  
The Public ◽  
Political World ◽  
Digital Era ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Government

Changes in the communication of information continue to occur along with the advancement of technology in the digital era. Nowadays everyone can work as a journalist even though he or she has never learned the basics of journalism. The public also frequently receive information or news that raise the eyebrows — ranging from disaster threats to information about the political world. The finding of this research is that often information that circulates in the hands of Warganet is a hoax and even hate speech, despite the government efforts to reduce the spread of hoax and hate speech. With this paper, the author aims at disclosing the propaganda elements in the hoax and hate speech in the social media as in the digital era the social media is the most vulnerable in spreading of hoax news and hate speech. By utilising qualitative content analysis, the author discusses five hoax news and hate speeches which are dissected using nine propaganda practices. The conclusion obtained by the author is that the hoax news and hate speech comprise of elements of exaggeration, rhetoric, recognition and influence on a variety of parties, as well as prejudices supplemented by emotions. 

scholarly journals Characterizing Reactions and Comments Associated with News on Facebook

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel Guimarães ◽  
Fabrício Benevenuto
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
News Media ◽  
New Method ◽  
The Political ◽  
Detailed Characterization ◽  
News Stories ◽  
Political Bias ◽  
News Sources ◽  
Facebook Pages

News consumption is increasingly done on social media websites. In this environment, all types of entities and people present themselves as news sources. These new outlets might focus on specific audiences, and some exhibit the news less objectively. Facebook is one of these platforms, which categorizes an extensive group of pages as a kind of news media. To analyze this phenomenon, it is crucial to characterize all pages that disseminate information in this ecosystem. Our main objective is to create an in-depth diagnostic of news stories and opinions, focusing on Brazilian Facebook. Our contributions are: (i) a new method to measure the political bias of Facebook pages on a given country, and (ii) a detailed characterization of a comprehensive sample of these pages.

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