
Fracking has two circles of users talking among themselves, strengthening their conflicting campaigns. The third word cloud represents the words used by the selected influential users. Picture: Kiran Garimella.
Selected influential users can efficiently spread information on both sides of a controversial discussion.
Social media has become an important news source for a majority of adults. A common complaint is that social media help create echo chambers in which people reading information do not expose themselves to different viewpoints but are often confined to their own. This happens especially with controversial and polarising topics where two viewpoints become so isolated and conflicting viewpoints can emerge that people do not receive or read information that will not reinforce their own opinion.
Researchers from Aalto University and University of Rome Tor Vergata have designed an algorithm that is able to balance the information exposure so that social media users can be exposed to information from both sides of the discussion.
The algorithm uses a greedy algorithm paradigm that aims to find optimal choices at each stage. In this study the algorithm works by efficiently selecting a set of influential users, who can be convinced to spread information about their side to the other side. The goal is to maximize the amount of users exposed to both viewpoints.

Escaping the echo chambers with the help of influential users
“We use word clouds as a qualitative case study to complement our quantitative results, whereby words in the cloud represent the words found in the users’ profiles. For instance, if we look at the topics related to the hashtag #russiagate, we can see not only that the two word clouds that represent the conflicting viewpoints are rather different, but also that they indicate either support or hate for Trump”, describes Aalto University researcher Kiran Garimella.
Similarly, a topic like fracking has two circles of users talking among themselves, strengthening their conflicting campaigns.
“We see in our data that the network is fragmented into two sides, one set of users supporting fracking and using terms such as ‘oil’, ‘energy’, and ‘gas’, and another set of users opposing fracking and using terms such as ‘environmental’, ‘green’, and ‘energy’. There is small overlap in the keywords used by each side, indicading that users are in an echo chamber”, Professor Aristides Gionis adds.
The algorithm helps to identify a small number of influential users who are exposed to both campaigns and have a more balanced viewpoint.
“Examining the content of those users we see that it uses terms from both sides of the discussion. Thus, these users can play a significant role in initiating a social debate and help spreading the arguments of one side to the other,” Garimella concludes.
Learn more: Conflicting views on social media balanced by an algorithm
The Latest on: Balancing social media
[google_news title=”” keyword=”balancing social media” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
- Strictly Legal: First Amendment, social, media and bullyingon May 31, 2023 at 10:12 am
The post, while racially insensitive, did not amount to fighting words or obscenity. Rather, the post itself indicates that it was intended to be satirical (regardless of its satirical value), and, ...
- Should the national curriculum include teaching social media in schools?on May 30, 2023 at 3:28 am
We should be teaching social media in schools to inform young people of both the risks and opportunities presented by online platforms ...
- KIDS & SOCIAL MEDIAon May 30, 2023 at 12:40 am
Dr. Vivek Murthy, the U.S. surgeon general, is calling for "immediate action" by tech companies and lawmakers to protect kids' and adolescents' mental health on social media.
- Editorial by The (Sunbury) Daily Item | Balancing social media use an ongoing struggleon May 29, 2023 at 11:30 pm
As cliche as it may seem, it really will take a village to protect children and adolescents from the potential dangers of social media and teach them how to properly ...
- Ask Amy: Using social media to find balance between curiosity and jealousy in datingon May 29, 2023 at 12:01 pm
Dear Amy: I am a 45-year-old divorced woman with a fairly active social media presence. After my divorce, I dated someone with no social media, so it was easy. After that ended, I met someone ...
- Oklahoma Joe: Balance – don’t ban – social media useon May 26, 2023 at 9:24 am
The surgeon general’s recent advisory on the “growing concerns about the effects of social media on youth mental health” doesn’t surprise me. But it should be another signal to parents and all of us ...
- Balancing social media use an ongoing struggleon May 25, 2023 at 12:33 am
While social media companies must be held accountable ... will require a difficult balancing act we must all be part of moving forward. NOTE: Opinions expressed in The Daily Item’s editorials ...
- Social Media Searches for Balanceon May 24, 2023 at 5:27 am
Kenneth C. Wisnefski, president and founder of WebiMax, an online marketing company, says his clients plan to adapt their social media strategies in the second half of the year. They are moving ...
- New recommendations released for teen social media useon May 23, 2023 at 3:07 am
The goal is balance. Balancing the positive aspects of social media with the potential for harm. Balancing social media use with the need for physical activity and the sleep needed for growing ...
- Balance: A personal touch helps with social media. So does knowing when to be quieton May 22, 2023 at 11:03 pm
Social media can be a cesspool ... and you can turn off that same talent or those same customers. It's all about balance. Just as Mom told you to eat your vegetables and not just dessert, it's ...
via Google News and Bing News