Exposure to Opposing Views can Increase Political Polarization_CANCELED

Résumé

There is mounting concern that social media sites contribute to political polarization by creating echo chambers that insulate people from opposing views about current events. We surveyed a large sample of Democrats and Republicans who visit Twitter at least three times each week about a range of social policy issues. One week later, we randomly assigned respondents to a treatment condition in which they were offered financial incentives to follow a Twitter bot for one month that exposed them to messages produced by elected officials, organizations, and other opinion leaders with opposing political ideologies. Respondents were re-surveyed at the end of the month to measure the effect of this treatment, and at regular intervals throughout the study period to monitor treatment compliance. Though Democrats who followed a conservative Twitter bot exhibited no significant changes in opinion compared to those in the control condition, Republicans exhibited substantially more conservative attitudes post-treatment. These effects are largest among Republicans who have strong attachment to their party.