Reducing 'Like-Minded' Facebook Content Does Not Reduce Polarization, Studies Find

Exposing Facebook users to less content that aligns with their beliefs does not significantly reduce political polarization, a new study found. 

The Details: The study is one of four released Thursday, the product of a partnership between Facebook owner Meta and researchers at over a dozen universities. Using internal company data, the researchers found that while “exposure to content from cross-cutting sources” is rare on Facebook, “extreme echo chamber patterns” are also infrequent. 

Resilient Polarization: In an experiment involving 23,377 users, researchers “reduced exposure to content from like-minded sources during the 2020 US presidential election by about one-third.” While these users saw more “cross-cutting” content and less “uncivil language,” researchers found no measurable change in politically polarized attitudes. 

Ideological Segregation: Another study found that Facebook was “far more” ideologically segregated than previous research had found. Researchers found “a substantial corner of the news ecosystem” was “consumed exclusively by conservatives; and most misinformation, as identified by Meta’s Third-Party Fact-Checking Program, exists within this homogeneously conservative corner, which has no equivalent on the liberal side.”

How the Media Covered It: Coverage was common on the left and center but seemingly absent from most right-rated sources. Left-rated sources often noted the findings about conservatives viewing most content flagged as false.