Social Media: Incitement or Hype? A Debate on Political Polarization
This article delves into the impact of social media on political polarization. The author challenges Dan Williams' argument that social media's influence is overstated. While acknowledging long-term polarization trends, the author contends that social media amplifies negative emotional content, empowers elite political influencers, and exacerbates political conflict and extremism. An 'elite radicalization' theory is proposed, suggesting that social media algorithms promote the spread of negative emotions, shaping public perception and leading to increased offline extreme political behavior, supported by empirical studies. Therefore, even if social media's impact on partisan polarization is limited, its negative effects on the political landscape remain significant.
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