The consequences of online partisan media.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
; 118(14)2021 04 06.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-33782116
What role do ideologically extreme media play in the polarization of society? Here we report results from a randomized longitudinal field experiment embedded in a nationally representative online panel survey (N = 1,037) in which participants were incentivized to change their browser default settings and social media following patterns, boosting the likelihood of encountering news with either a left-leaning (HuffPost) or right-leaning (Fox News) slant during the 2018 US midterm election campaign. Data on ≈ 19 million web visits by respondents indicate that resulting changes in news consumption persisted for at least 8 wk. Greater exposure to partisan news can cause immediate but short-lived increases in website visits and knowledge of recent events. After adjusting for multiple comparisons, however, we find little evidence of a direct impact on opinions or affect. Still, results from later survey waves suggest that both treatments produce a lasting and meaningful decrease in trust in the mainstream media up to 1 y later. Consistent with the minimal-effects tradition, direct consequences of online partisan media are limited, although our findings raise questions about the possibility of subtle, cumulative dynamics. The combination of experimentation and computational social science techniques illustrates a powerful approach for studying the long-term consequences of exposure to partisan news.
Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Disentimientos y Disputas
/
Medios de Comunicación Sociales
/
Medios de Comunicación de Masas
Tipo de estudio:
Clinical_trials
Límite:
Humans
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
Año:
2021
Tipo del documento:
Article
Pais de publicación:
Estados Unidos