The truth behind filter bubbles: Bursting some myths

The truth behind filter bubbles(ˈbəbəl): Bursting(bərst) some myths(miTH)

Many voices warn that social media may be filtering out news that we dislike. Here’s what the research says about it

By Dr. Richard(ˈriCHərd) Fletcher(ˈfleCHər)

A filter bubble is a state of intellectual(ˌin(t)əˈlek(t)SH(o͞o)əl) or ideological(ˌīdēəˈläjəkəl, ˌidēəˈläjəkəl) isolation(ˌīsəˈlāSHən) that may result from algorithms feeding us information we agree with, based on our past behaviour(biˈhāvyər) and search history. It’s a pretty popular term that was coined(koin) by Internet activist(ˈaktivəst) Eli(ˈēlī) Pariser, who wrote about a book about it. However, as our Senior(ˈsēnyər) Research Fellow Richard Fletcher said in one of our recent seminars(ˈseməˌnär), academic research on the subject tells a different story about filter bubbles. Here’s an edited transcript of that talk.

What is a filter bubble? Is it the same as an echo(ˈekō) chamber(ˈCHāmbər)?

People use services like Facebook, Twitter and Apple News to get their news. Some of the news that people see when they’re using these platforms has been selected automatically by algorithms. Algorithms made this selection by using data that have been collected by platforms, based on our past use, and also data that we voluntarily(ˈvälənˌterəlē,ˌvälənˈte(ə)rəlē) give to platforms. Of course, the fear is that this could reinforce existing consumption patterns.

I personally think that echo chambers and filter bubbles are slightly different. An echo chamber is what might happen when we are overexposed to news that we like or agree with, potentially distorting(dəˈstôrt) our perception(pərˈsepSHən) of reality because we see too much of one side, not enough of the other, and we start to think perhaps that reality is like this.

Filter bubbles describe a situation where news that we dislike or disagree with is automatically filtered out and this might have the effect of narrowing what we know. This distinction is important because echo chambers could be a result of filtering or they could be the result of other processes, but filter bubbles have to be the result of algorithmic(ˌalɡəˈriT͟Hmik) filtering.

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https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/risj-review/truth-behind-filter-bubbles-bursting-some-myths