Depolarization of echo chambers by random dynamical nudge

Currin C, Vera SV, Khaledi-Nasab A. 2022. Depolarization of echo chambers by random dynamical nudge. Scientific Reports. 12, 9234.

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Journal Article | Published | English

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Author
Currin, ChristopherISTA ; Vera, Sebastián Vallejo; Khaledi-Nasab, Ali
Department
Abstract
In social networks, users often engage with like-minded peers. This selective exposure to opinions might result in echo chambers, i.e., political fragmentation and social polarization of user interactions. When echo chambers form, opinions have a bimodal distribution with two peaks on opposite sides. In certain issues, where either extreme positions contain a degree of misinformation, neutral consensus is preferable for promoting discourse. In this paper, we use an opinion dynamics model that naturally forms echo chambers in order to find a feedback mechanism that bridges these communities and leads to a neutral consensus. We introduce the <jats:italic>random dynamical nudge</jats:italic> (RDN), which presents each agent with input from a random selection of other agents’ opinions and does not require surveillance of every person’s opinions. Our computational results in two different models suggest that the RDN leads to a unimodal distribution of opinions centered around the neutral consensus. Furthermore, the RDN is effective both for preventing the formation of echo chambers and also for depolarizing existing echo chambers. Due to the simple and robust nature of the RDN, social media networks might be able to implement a version of this self-feedback mechanism, when appropriate, to prevent the segregation of online communities on complex social issues.
Publishing Year
Date Published
2022-06-02
Journal Title
Scientific Reports
Acknowledgement
CBC and AKN would like to thank Neuromatch Academy https://www.neuromatchacademy.org for introducing the authors to each other. We thank Dr. Krešimir Josic (University of Houston) , Fabian Baumann (Humboldt University) and Dr. Igor M. Sokolov (Humboldt University) for carefully reading the early versions of the manuscript and providing constructive feedback. CBC is supported by the German Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD, https://daad.de), the South African National Research Foundation (NRF, https://nrf.ac.za), the University of Cape Town (UCT, https://uct.ac.za), and the NOMIS Foundation through the NOMIS Fellowships at IST Austria program (https://nomisfoundation.ch). SVV appreciate the generosity of Tecnológico de Monterrey for covering the publication fee.
Volume
12
Article Number
9234
ISSN
IST-REx-ID

Cite this

Currin C, Vera SV, Khaledi-Nasab A. Depolarization of echo chambers by random dynamical nudge. Scientific Reports. 2022;12. doi:10.1038/s41598-022-12494-w
Currin, C., Vera, S. V., & Khaledi-Nasab, A. (2022). Depolarization of echo chambers by random dynamical nudge. Scientific Reports. Springer Nature. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-12494-w
Currin, Christopher, Sebastián Vallejo Vera, and Ali Khaledi-Nasab. “Depolarization of Echo Chambers by Random Dynamical Nudge.” Scientific Reports. Springer Nature, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-12494-w.
C. Currin, S. V. Vera, and A. Khaledi-Nasab, “Depolarization of echo chambers by random dynamical nudge,” Scientific Reports, vol. 12. Springer Nature, 2022.
Currin C, Vera SV, Khaledi-Nasab A. 2022. Depolarization of echo chambers by random dynamical nudge. Scientific Reports. 12, 9234.
Currin, Christopher, et al. “Depolarization of Echo Chambers by Random Dynamical Nudge.” Scientific Reports, vol. 12, 9234, Springer Nature, 2022, doi:10.1038/s41598-022-12494-w.
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2023-01-27
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