Opinion-forming on the web. How social media misrepresent social preferences.

How does social media shape our image of what "the others" think and know? Assistant professor Dr Fabian Prochazka shows in his new article in Communicatio Socialis that it is not so much filter bubbles as distorted social preferences on social media that pose a central threat to journalism and politics.

Social media have become an important arena for opinion formation and political discourse. What happens there has an impact – on citizens, on journalism and its selection of topics, and on political decision-making. The public and academic debate focuses primarily on the dangers of filter bubbles and misinformation for democracy. This article argues that the influence of social media lies primarily in how societal preferences are perceived: our image of what others think and know is increasingly shaped by social media. But this image is distorted due to identity-driven and unequal participation. As a result, some perspectives are being amplified and others become invisible, leading to misjudgments in journalism and politics. The article analyzes how these distortions arise and makes normative suggestions to address the problem. 

Click here for the preprint.

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