9. The Twitter Algorithm: Does it Promote Political divisions and Negative Emotions?

Join us this week as we dive into the rise of identity politics in the U.S. and its implications on political behavior. We explore a interesting paper titled “Identity Politics,” published as an Economics Working Paper in March 2023. Authors: Nicola Gennaioli https://scholar.google.it/citations?user=1nnaKEwAAAAJ&hl=en Guido Tabellini: https://scholar.google.ch/citations?user=z2bcm8cAAAAJ&hl=en The institution that supported this work is Bocconi University in Italy. Links for further exploration: ·   Full Paper: https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/271982/1/cesifo1_wp10338.pdf ·   Data on political adverts: https://mediaproject.wesleyan.edu/ ·   Data on white voting over time: https://electionstudies.org/ Stay Connected: Twitter: https://twitter.com/socsciweekly LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/social-science-weekly/ Tune in to Social Science Weekly, to get just the facts, none of the spin, from the best and most important social science.

In this episode of Social Science Weekly, we look at the Black Lives Matter movement, exploring its impact on policing and crime across the USA. Drawing insights from the meticulously researched paper “Black Lives Matter’s Effect on Police Lethal Use of Force”, published in the Journal of Urban Economics in September 2023, we present an unbiased and data-driven view of the movement's real-world impact. For those keen on diving deeper, check out the show ntoes on YouTube: https://youtu.be/-Ox2eYkZNSI Tune in to Social Science Weekly, to get just the facts, none of the spin, from the best and most important social science.

In this week's episode of Social Science Weekly, we dive into a paper titled “Does Protest Influence Political Speech? Evidence from UK Climate Protest, 2017–2019”, recently published in the British Journal of Political Science. Join us as we explore research by Christopher Barrie, Thomas G. Fleming, and Sam S. Rowan, who have looked at political discourse in the UK, asking if climate protests can influence it. The research is backed by institutions such as the University of Edinburgh, University College London, and Concordia University in Montreal. For more information click below. - Read the Full Paper - Fridays for Future Website - Hansard Record - Data used in the paper - Supplementary Information Stay connected with us on Twitter and LinkedIn for more updates. Tune in to Social Science Weekly, to get just the facts, none of the spin, from the best and most important social science.

In this episode, we dive deep into the intricate web of Facebook's echo chambers. Ever wondered how the content you scroll through impacts your views, especially during pivotal moments like elections? We're unpacking a groundbreaking study titled “Like-minded sources on Facebook are prevalent but not polarizing”, a piece that made waves in the journal Nature in July 2023. Led by Brendan Nyhan from Dartmouth College, the research boasts contributions from a stellar lineup of computational social scientists spanning institutions from William and Mary to the University of Vienna. Together, they unravel the mysteries of our online interactions, challenging popular beliefs about polarization on social media platforms. Discover more about the minds behind this research: • Lead Author, Brendan Nyhan For those eager to delve deeper: • Read the Full Paper • Stay updated with us on Twitter and LinkedIn Tune in to Social Science Weekly, to get just the facts, none of the spin, from the best and most important social science.

In this week's episode of Social Science Weekly, we delve into the world of Twitter with a study that scrutinizes the functioning and implications of Twitter's ranking algorithm. The episode is based on the paper titled "Twitter’s Algorithm: Amplifying Anger, Animosity, and Affective Polarization", from researchers Smitha Millia, Micah Carroll, Sashrika Pandey, Yike Wang, and Anca D. Dragan from Cornell Tech and Berkeley Universities. Looking at how Twitter's algorithm selects emotional content, its effects on preferences, and a surprising finding on the "echo chamber" phenomenon. We further break down the study's methodology, its limitations, and why its revelations matter to every Twitter user and those who value public discourse. Whether you're a Twitter user curious about the unseen forces shaping your feed, or a social science enthusiast looking to understand the psychological and sociopolitical implications of algorithmic curation, this episode is sure to provide some food for thought. Tune in to Social Science Weekly, to get just the facts, none of the spin, from the best and most important social science.

In this enlightening episode of Social Science Weekly, we delve into the groundbreaking paper "The spread of true and false news online" by Soroush Vosoughi, Deb Roy, and Sinan Aral, originally published in Science in 2018. We explore a phenomenon that greatly influences our perception of the world - the rapid and indiscriminate spread of true and false information on social media platforms. This comprehensive study sifts through an expansive dataset of tweets from 2006 to 2017, dissecting the mechanics of information diffusion on Twitter and providing a unique perspective on the disparities in the spread of true and false news. We also scrutinize the study's findings: that false news travels faster and reaches more people, and that users spreading false news often have fewer followers and are less active. The element of novelty and the elicitation of emotional responses, particularly surprise and disgust, were also found to significantly contribute to the spread of false news. However, we also acknowledge the limitations of this study, including the confinement of the research to Twitter and the potential for bias introduced by the fact-checking organizations. Join us as we uncover these and other nuances in this intriguing exploration of the digital information age. Tune in to Social Science Weekly, to get just the facts, none of the spin, from the best and most important social science.

In this thought-provoking episode, we delve into the impact of higher education on political views and actions. We analyze a groundbreaking study and discuss its potential consequences on politics and society. Discover how earning a college degree can shape our political perspectives and decisions, and join us in exploring the fascinating world of social science research. The social science paper in this episode is called "Does university make you more liberal? Estimating the within-individual effects of higher education on political values," published in Election Studies in June 2022. The author of this research is: Ralph Scott: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=7tmZ35EAAAAJ&hl=en The institution that supported this work is the University of Manchester Links for further exploration... Full Paper: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0261379422000312 The 1970 British Cohort Study: https://cls.ucl.ac.uk/cls-studies/1970-british-cohort-study/ Election Studies Journal: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/electoral-studies Twitter: https://twitter.com/socsciweekly Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100092377246121 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/social-science-weekly/