Social media fuels extreme political rhetoric

UC College of Arts and Sciences Professor Jeffrey Blevins told Local 12 that the goal of social media algorithms is to keep people engaged, measured by what people like, comment on and spend time watching. Blevins said this can have unintentional consequences.

People often share posts with which they strongly disagree or find offensive, he said.

“I'm likely to be fed that not necessarily by someone who disagrees with me but by someone on my side (politically),” Blevins told Local 12. 

The algorithms can lead to a psychological effect called confirmation bias, he said.

“We tend to not seek out information that contradicts our world view,” Blevins said. “We’re more likely to seek out information that reassures us that what we believe is true.”

Blevins co-wrote the award-winning “Social Media, Social Justice and the Political Economy of Online Networks.” He also teaches in UC's School of Public and International Affairs.

Watch the Local 12 report.

Featured image at top: UC Professor Jeffrey Blevins says algorithms feed polarization on social media. Photo/Thomas Northcut