View source for Echo chamber (media)

{{short description|Situation that reinforces beliefs by repetition inside a closed system}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2021}}
[[File:FilterBubble.jpg|thumb|An echo chamber is "an environment where a person only encounters information or opinions that reflect and reinforce his or her own."<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/english/echo-chamber|title=echo-chamber noun - Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage notes {{!}} Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary at OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com|website=www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com|access-date=2020-04-25}}</ref>]]

In [[news media]] and [[social media]], an '''echo chamber''' is an environment or ecosystem in which participants encounter [[belief]]s that amplify or reinforce their preexisting beliefs by communication and repetition inside a closed system and insulated from rebuttal.<ref name="auto" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":5" /> An echo chamber circulates existing views without encountering opposing views, potentially resulting in [[confirmation bias]]. Echo chambers may increase [[social polarization|social]] and [[political polarization]] and [[extremism]].<ref name="barbera">Barberá, Pablo, et al. (21 August 2015). [http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.715.7520&rep=rep1&type=pdf "Tweeting from left to right: Is online political communication more than an echo chamber?"]. ''[[Psychological Science]]''. 26.10: 1531-1542. {{doi|10.1177/0956797615594620}}</ref> On social media, it is thought that echo chambers limit exposure to diverse perspectives, and favor and reinforce presupposed narratives and ideologies.<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal |last1=Cinelli |first1=Matteo |last2=De Francisci Morales |first2=Gianmarco |last3=Galeazzi |first3=Alessandro |last4=Quattrociocchi |first4=Walter |last5=Starnini |first5=Michele |date=2021-02-23 |title=The echo chamber effect on social media |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |volume=118 |issue=9 |doi=10.1073/pnas.2023301118 |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=7936330 |pmid=33622786|bibcode=2021PNAS..11823301C |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |last1=Currin |first1=Christopher Brian |last2=Vera |first2=Sebastián Vallejo |last3=Khaledi-Nasab |first3=Ali |date=2022-06-02 |title=Depolarization of echo chambers by random dynamical nudge |journal=Scientific Reports |language=en |volume=12 |issue=1 |pages=9234 |doi=10.1038/s41598-022-12494-w |pmid=35654942 |pmc=9163087 |arxiv=2101.04079 |bibcode=2022NatSR..12.9234C |issn=2045-2322}}</ref>

The term is a metaphor based on an acoustic [[echo chamber]], in which sounds [[Reverberation|reverberate]] in a hollow enclosure. Another emerging term for this echoing and homogenizing effect within social-media communities on the Internet is [[neotribalism]].

Many scholars note the effects that echo chambers can have on citizens' stances and viewpoints, and specifically implications has for politics.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Unver|first=H. Akin|title=Politics of Automation, Attention, and Engagement|date=2017|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26494368|journal=Journal of International Affairs|volume=71|issue=1|pages=127–146|jstor=26494368|issn=0022-197X}}</ref> However, some studies have suggested that the effects of echo chambers are weaker than often assumed.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Gentzkow|first1=Matthew|last2=Shapiro|first2=Jesse M.|date=November 2011|title=Ideological Segregation Online and Offline *|journal=The Quarterly Journal of Economics|volume=126|issue=4|pages=1799–1839|doi=10.1093/qje/qjr044|s2cid=9303073|issn=0033-5533|url=http://www.nber.org/papers/w15916.pdf|hdl=1811/52901|hdl-access=free}}</ref>

== Concept ==
The Internet has expanded the variety and amount of accessible political information. On the positive side, this may create a more pluralistic form of public debate; on the negative side, greater access to information may lead to [[Selective exposure theory|selective exposure]] to ideologically supportive channels.<ref name="barbera" /> In an extreme "echo chamber", one purveyor of information will make a claim, which many like-minded people then repeat, overhear, and repeat again (often in an exaggerated or otherwise distorted form)<ref>{{cite news | first=Robert | last=Parry | title=The GOP's $3 Bn Propaganda Organ | date=2006-12-28 |url=http://baltimorechronicle.com/2006/122706Parry.shtml | work =The Baltimore Chronicle | access-date = 2008-03-06 }}</ref> until most people assume that some extreme variation of the story is true.<ref name="SourceWatch at 23:47, 22 October 2006">{{cite web|url=http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Echo_chamber |title=SourceWatch entry on media "Echo Chamber" effect |access-date=2008-02-03 |date=2006-10-22 |work=SourceWatch }}</ref>

The echo chamber effect occurs online when a harmonious group of people amalgamate and develop [[Tunnel vision (metaphor)|tunnel vision]]. Participants in online discussions may find their opinions constantly echoed back to them, which [[Reinforcement theory|reinforces]] their individual belief systems due to the declining exposure to other's opinions.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Mutz|first=Diana C.|title=Hearing the Other Side|date=2006|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-511-61720-1|location=Cambridge|doi=10.1017/cbo9780511617201}}</ref> Their individual belief systems are what culminate into a confirmation bias regarding a variety of subjects. When an individual wants something to be true, they often will only gather the information that supports their existing beliefs and disregard any statements they find that are contradictory or speak negatively upon their beliefs.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/science-choice/201504/what-is-confirmation-bias|title=What Is Confirmation Bias?|last=Heshmat|first=Shahram|date=2015-04-23|website=Psychology Today|language=en-US|access-date=2020-04-25}}</ref> Individuals who participate in echo chambers often do so because they feel more confident that their opinions will be more readily accepted by others in the echo chamber.<ref name=":02">{{Cite journal|last1=Hampton|first1=Keith N.|last2=Shin|first2=Inyoung|last3=Lu|first3=Weixu|date=2017-07-03|title=Social media and political discussion: when online presence silences offline conversation|journal=Information, Communication & Society|volume=20|issue=7|pages=1090–1107|doi=10.1080/1369118x.2016.1218526|issn=1369-118X|doi-access=free}}</ref> This happens because the Internet has provided access to a wide range of readily available information. People are receiving their news online more rapidly through less traditional sources, such as [[Facebook]], [[Google]], and [[Twitter]]. These and many other social platforms and online media outlets have established personalized [[algorithm]]s intended to cater specific information to individuals’ online feeds. This method of curating [[content (media)|content]] has replaced the function of the traditional news editor.<ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Hosanagar|first1=Kartik|date=2016-11-25|title=Blame the Echo Chamber on Facebook. But Blame Yourself, Too|url=https://www.wired.com/2016/11/facebook-echo-chamber/|magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]|access-date=2017-09-24}}</ref> The mediated spread of information through online networks causes a risk of an algorithmic filter bubble, leading to concern regarding how the effects of echo chambers on the internet promote the division of online interaction.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Ulen|first=Thomas S.|date=2001|title=Democracy and the Internet: Cass R. Sunstein, Republic.Com. Princeton, NJ. Princeton University Press. Pp. 224. 2001|journal=SSRN Working Paper Series|doi=10.2139/ssrn.286293|issn=1556-5068}}</ref>

It is important to note that members of an echo chamber are not fully responsible for their convictions. Once part of an echo chamber, an individual might adhere to seemingly acceptable epistemic practices and still be further misled. Many individuals may be [[Mindset|stuck]] in echo chambers due to factors existing outside of their control, such as being raised in one.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last=Nguyen|first=C. Thi|title=Echo Chambers and Epistemic Bubbles|date=June 2020|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/episteme/article/echo-chambers-and-epistemic-bubbles/5D4AC3A808C538E17C50A7C09EC706F0|journal=Episteme|language=en|volume=17|issue=2|pages=141–161|doi=10.1017/epi.2018.32|s2cid=171520109|issn=1742-3600}}</ref>

Furthermore, the function of an echo chamber does not entail eroding a member's interest in [[truth]]; it focuses upon manipulating their credibility levels so that fundamentally different establishments and institutions will be considered proper sources of authority.<ref name="npr.org">{{Cite web|title=The Reason Your Feed Became An Echo Chamber — And What To Do About It|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2016/07/24/486941582/the-reason-your-feed-became-an-echo-chamber-and-what-to-do-about-it|access-date=2020-06-12|website=NPR.org|language=en}}</ref>

== Empirical research ==
However, empirical findings to clearly support these concerns are needed <ref>{{cite book |last1=Dahlgren |first1=Peter M. |title=Media Echo Chambers: Selective Exposure and Confirmation Bias in Media Use, and its Consequences for Political Polarization |date=2020 |publisher=University of Gothenburg |location=Gothenburg |isbn=978-91-88212-95-5 |url=https://gupea.ub.gu.se/handle/2077/67023?locale=en}}</ref> and the field is very fragmented when it comes to empirical results. There are some studies that do measure echo chamber effects, such as the study of Bakshy et al. (2015).<ref name="BakshyMessing2015"/><ref name="WiredFilter2"/> In this study the researchers found that people tend to share news articles they align with. Similarly,  they discovered a homophily in online friendships, meaning people are more likely to be connected on social media if they have the same [[Ideology#Political ideologies|political ideology]]. In combination, this can lead to echo chamber effects. Bakshy et al. found that a person's potential exposure to cross-cutting content (content that is opposite to their own political beliefs) through their own network is only 24% for liberals and 35% for conservatives. Other studies argue that expressing cross-cutting content is an important measure of echo chambers: Bossetta et al. (2023) find that 29% of Facebook comments during Brexit were cross-cutting expressions.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bossetta |first1=Michael |last2=Dutceac Segesten |first2=Anamaria |last3=Bonacci |first3=Duje |date=2023-06-22 |title=Reconceptualizing Cross-Cutting Political Expression on Social Media: A Case Study of Facebook Comments During the 2016 Brexit Referendum |journal=Political Communication |volume=40 |issue=6 |language=en |pages=719–741 |doi=10.1080/10584609.2023.2222370 |s2cid=259634530 |issn=1058-4609|doi-access=free }}</ref> Therefore, echo chambers might be present in a person's media diet but not in how they interact with others on social media.
[[File:Disinformation and echo chambers.jpg|thumb|Echo chamber dynamics in social media as a two-step process. The first is "seeding" in which malicious actors insert [[misinformation]] into the public sphere, and second is “echoing” when people circulate it as part of their beliefs and identity.<ref name="auto" />]]
Another set of studies suggests that echo chambers exist, but that these are not a widespread phenomenon: Based on survey data, Dubois and Blank (2018) show that most people do consume news from various sources, while around 8% consume media with low diversity.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dubois |first1=Elizabeth |last2=Blank |first2=Grant|title=The echo chamber is overstated: the moderating effect of political interest and diverse media |journal=Information, Communication & Society |date=2018 |volume=21 |issue=5 |pages=729–745 |doi=10.1080/1369118X.2018.1428656 |s2cid=149369522 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Similarly, Rusche (2022) shows that, most Twitter users do not show behavior that resembles that of an echo chamber. However, through high levels of online activity, the small group of users that do, make up a substantial share populist politicians' followers, thus creating homogeneous online spaces.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rusche |first1=Felix |title=Few voices, strong echo: Measuring follower homogeneity of politicians' Twitter accounts |journal=New Media & Society |date=2022 |doi=10.1177/14614448221099860 |s2cid=249902124 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

Finally, there are other studies which contradict the existence of echo chambers. Some found that people also share news reports that don't align with their political beliefs.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Morgan |first1=Jonathan Scott |last2=Lampe |first2=Cliff |last3=Shafiq |first3=Muhammad Zubair |title=Proceedings of the 2013 conference on Computer supported cooperative work |chapter=Is news sharing on Twitter ideologically biased? |date=2013 |pages=887–896 |doi=10.1145/2441776.2441877|isbn=9781450313315 |s2cid=9415443 }}</ref>
Others found that people using social media are being exposed to more diverse sources than people not using social media.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Levy |first1=David |last2=Fletcher |first2=Richard |last3=Kalogeropoulos |first3=Antonis |last4=Newman |first4=Nic |last5=Nielsen |first5=Rasmus Kleis |url=https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/Digital%20News%20Report%202017%20web_0.pdf |title=Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2017 |pages=42–43 |journal=Digital News Report |date=June 2017 |publisher=[[University of Oxford|Oxford]]: [[Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism]] |access-date=24 May 2021}}</ref>
In summation, it remains that clear and distinct findings are absent which either confirm or falsify the concerns of echo chamber effects.

Research on the [[social dynamics]] of echo chambers shows that the fragmented nature of [[online culture]], the importance of collective identity construction, and the argumentative nature of online controversies can generate echo chambers where participants encounter self-reinforcing beliefs.<ref name="auto">{{Cite journal |last1=Diaz Ruiz |first1=Carlos |last2=Nilsson |first2=Tomas |date=2023 |title=Disinformation and Echo Chambers: How Disinformation Circulates in Social Media Through Identity-Driven Controversies |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/07439156221103852 |journal=Journal of Public Policy & Marketing |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=18–35 |doi=10.1177/07439156221103852 |s2cid=248934562}}</ref> Researchers show that echo chambers are prime vehicles to disseminate disinformation, as participants exploit contradictions against perceived opponents amidst identity-driven controversies.<ref name="auto"/> 

Some scholars instead emphasize the impact of echo chambers on identity and emotion, rather than on opinions and beliefs, showing that echo chambers can contribute to political [[tribalism]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Törnberg |first1=A. |last2=Törnberg |first2=P. |year=2024 |title=Intimate Communities of Hate: Why Social Media Fuels Far-Right Extremism |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-040-00493-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b_zwEAAAQBAJ }}</ref>

=== Difficulties of researching processes ===
Echo chamber studies fail to achieve consistent and comparable results due to unclear definitions, inconsistent measurement methods, and unrepresentative data.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gray |first1=Peter |last2=Johnson |first2=Steven L. |last3=Kitchens |first3=Brent |date=December 2020 |title=Understanding Echo Chambers and Filter Bubbles: The Impact of Social Media On Diversification and Partisan Shifts in News Consumption |journal=MIS Quarterly |volume=44 |issue=4 |pages=1619–1649 |doi=10.25300/MISQ/2020/16371 |issn=0276-7783 |s2cid=229294134}}</ref> Social media platforms continually change their algorithms, and most studies are conducted in the US, limiting their application to political systems with more parties.

== Echo chambers vs epistemic bubbles ==
In recent years, closed epistemic networks have increasingly been held responsible for the era of post-truth and [[fake news]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Robson|first=David|title=The myth of the online echo chamber|url=https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20180416-the-myth-of-the-online-echo-chamber|access-date=2020-06-12|website=www.bbc.com|language=en}}</ref> However, the media frequently conflates two distinct concepts of social [[epistemology]]: echo chambers and epistemic bubbles.<ref name="npr.org"/>

An epistemic bubble is an informational network in which important sources have been excluded by omission, perhaps unintentionally. It is an impaired epistemic framework which lacks strong connectivity.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Magnani|first1=Lorenzo|last2=Bertolotti|first2=Tommaso|date=2011|title=Cognitive Bubbles and Firewalls: Epistemic Immunizations in Human Reasoning|url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/60f049qw|journal=Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society|language=en|volume=33|issue=33|issn=1069-7977}}</ref> Members within epistemic bubbles are unaware of significant information and reasoning.

On the other hand, an echo chamber is an epistemic construct in which voices are actively excluded and discredited. It does not suffer from a lack in connectivity; rather it depends on a manipulation of trust by methodically discrediting all outside sources.<ref name="uva.theopenscholar.com">{{Cite web|title='Echo chambers,' polarization, and the increasing tension between the (social) reality of expertise and the (cultural) suspicion of authority|url=https://uva.theopenscholar.com/charles-mathewes/blog/echo-chambers-polarization-and-increasing-tension-between-reality-expertise|access-date=2020-06-12|website=uva.theopenscholar.com|language=en}}</ref> According to research conducted by the [[University of Pennsylvania]], members of echo chambers become dependent on the sources within the chamber and highly resistant to any external sources.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Echo Chamber: Rush Limbaugh and the Conservative Media Establishment |publisher=Oxford University Press & Annenberg School for Communication |url=https://www.asc.upenn.edu/news-events/publications/kathleen-hall-jamieson-joseph-n-cappella-echo-chamber-rush-limbaugh-and |access-date=2020-06-12}}</ref>

An important distinction exists in the strength of the respective epistemic structures. Epistemic bubbles are not particularly robust. Relevant information has merely been left out, not discredited.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2016-10-25|title=Americans, Politics and Social Media|url=https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2016/10/25/the-political-environment-on-social-media/|access-date=2020-06-12|website=Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech|language=en-US}}</ref> One can ‘pop’ an epistemic bubble by exposing a member to the information and sources that they have been missing.<ref name=":2" />

Echo chambers, however, are incredibly strong. By creating pre-emptive distrust between members and non-members, insiders will be insulated from the validity of counter-evidence and will continue to reinforce the chamber in the form of a closed loop.<ref name="uva.theopenscholar.com"/> Outside voices are heard, but dismissed.

As such, the two concepts are fundamentally distinct and cannot be utilized interchangeably. However, one must note that this distinction is conceptual in nature, and an epistemic community can exercise multiple methods of exclusion to varying extents.
{{See also|Social reality}}

=== Similar concepts ===
{{further|filter bubble}}

A '''filter bubble''' – a term coined by internet activist [[Eli Pariser]] – is a state of intellectual isolation that allegedly can result from [[personalized search]]es when a website algorithm selectively guesses what information a user would like to see based on information about the user, such as location, past click-behavior and search history. As a result, users become separated from information that disagrees with their viewpoints, effectively isolating them in their own cultural or ideological bubbles. The choices made by these algorithms are not transparent.

{{further|homophily}}

'''Homophily''' is the tendency of individuals to associate and [[Human bonding|bond]] with similar others, as in the proverb "birds of a feather flock together". The presence of homophily has been detected in a vast array of [[Social network|network]] studies. For example, a study conducted by Bakshy et. al. explored the data of 10.1 million Facebook users. These users identified as either politically liberal, moderate, or conservative, and the vast majority of their friends were found to have a political orientation that was similar to their own. Facebook algorithms recognize this and selects information with a bias towards this political orientation to showcase in their newsfeed.<ref name=":3">{{cite journal | doi=10.1111/bjso.12286 | title=The triple-filter bubble: Using agent-based modelling to test a meta-theoretical framework for the emergence of filter bubbles and echo chambers | year=2019 | last1=Geschke | first1=Daniel | last2=Lorenz | first2=Jan | last3=Holtz | first3=Peter | journal=British Journal of Social Psychology | volume=58 | issue=1 | pages=129–149 | pmid=30311947 | pmc=6585863 | s2cid=52965994 }}</ref>

{{Further|Recommender system}}

'''Recommender systems''' are information filtering systems put in place on different platforms that provide recommendations depending on information gathered from the user. In general, recommendations are provided in three different ways: based on content that was previously selected by the user, content that has similar properties or characteristics to that which has been previously selected by the user, or a combination of both.<ref name=":3" />

Both echo chambers and filter bubbles relate to the ways individuals are exposed to content devoid of clashing opinions, and colloquially might be used interchangeably. However, echo chamber refers to the overall phenomenon by which individuals are exposed only to information from like-minded individuals, while filter bubbles are a result of algorithms that choose content based on previous online behavior, as with search histories or online shopping activity.<ref name="BakshyMessing2015">{{Cite journal|last1=Bakshy|first1=Eytan|last2=Messing|first2=Solomon|last3=Adamic|first3=Lada A.|date=2015-06-05|title=Exposure to ideologically diverse news and opinion on Facebook|journal=Science|language=en|volume=348|issue=6239|pages=1130–1132|doi=10.1126/science.aaa1160|issn=0036-8075|pmid=25953820|bibcode=2015Sci...348.1130B|s2cid=206632821|doi-access=free}}</ref> Indeed, specific combinations of homophily and recommender systems have been identified as significant drivers for determining the emergence of echo chambers.<ref name="CinusEffect22">{{Cite conference|last1=Cinus|first1=Federico|last2=Minici|first2=Marco|last3=Monti|first3=Corrado|last4=Bonchi|first4=Francesco|date=2022-07-09|title=The effect of people recommenders on echo chambers and polarization|conference=International AAAI Conference on Web and Social Media|language=en|volume=16|issue=1|pages=90–101|url=https://ojs.aaai.org/index.php/ICWSM/article/view/19275}}</ref>

{{further|Culture war}}

'''Culture wars''' are [[cultural conflict]]s between social groups that have conflicting [[Value (ethics)|values]] and [[belief]]s. It refers to "hot button" topics on which societal [[Political polarization|polarization]] occurs.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hartmann |first=Andrew |title=War for the Soul of America: A History of the Culture Wars |publisher=University of Chicago Press |year=2019 |isbn=978-0-226-62191-3 |edition=2nd |location=Chicago, IL}}</ref> A culture war is defined as "the phenomenon in which multiple groups of people, who hold entrenched values and ideologies, attempt to contentiously steer public policy."<ref name="auto" /> Echo chambers on social media have been identified as playing a role on  how multiple social groups, holding distinct values and ideologies, create groups circulate conversations through conflict and controversy.

== Implications of echo chambers ==

=== Online communities ===
[[File:Sna_large.png|thumb|Social network diagram displaying users forming separate, distinct clusters]]
Online social communities become fragmented by echo chambers when like-minded people group together and members hear arguments in one specific direction with no counter argument addressed. In certain online platforms, such as Twitter, echo chambers are more likely to be found when the topic is more political in nature compared to topics that are seen as more neutral.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Barberá|first1=Pablo|last2=Jost|first2=John T.|last3=Nagler|first3=Jonathan|last4=Tucker|first4=Joshua A.|last5=Bonneau|first5=Richard|date=2015-08-21|title=Tweeting From Left to Right|journal=Psychological Science|language=en|volume=26|issue=10|pages=1531–1542 |issn=0956-7976|doi=10.1177/0956797615594620 |pmid=26297377|s2cid=4649581}}</ref> [[Social networking]] communities are communities that are considered to be some of the most powerful reinforcements of rumors<ref>{{cite book |last1=DiFonzo |first1=Nicholas |title=The Watercooler Effect: An Indispensable Guide to Understanding and Harnessing the Power of Rumors |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LOPMg7Bm5HgC&q=the+watercooler+effect |publisher=[[Penguin Books]] |isbn=9781440638633 |date=2008-09-11 |access-date=2017-09-24}}</ref> due to the trust in the evidence supplied by their own social group and peers, over the information circulating the news.<ref>{{cite web |last1=DiFonzo |first1=Nicholas |title=The Echo-Chamber Effect |url=https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2011/04/21/barack-obama-and-the-psychology-of-the-birther-myth/the-echo-chamber-effect |website=[[The New York Times]] |date=2011-04-21 |access-date=2017-09-24}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Difonzo|first1=Nicolas|date=22 April 2011|title=The Echo Chamber Effect|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2011/04/21/barack-obama-and-the-psychology-of-the-birther-myth/the-echo-chamber-effect|access-date=18 March 2017}}</ref> In addition to this, the reduction of fear that users can enjoy through projecting their views on the internet versus face-to-face allows for further engagement in agreement with their peers.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last1=Walter|first1=Stefanie|last2=Brüggemann|first2=Michael|last3=Engesser|first3=Sven|date=2017-12-21|title=Echo Chambers of Denial: Explaining User Comments on Climate Change|journal=Environmental Communication|volume=12|issue=2|pages=204–217|doi=10.1080/17524032.2017.1394893|s2cid=148918776|issn=1752-4032|url=https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/5727019 }}</ref>

This can create significant barriers to critical discourse within an online medium. Social discussion and sharing can potentially suffer when people have a [[Basic belief|narrow information base]] and do not reach outside their network.  Essentially, the filter bubble can distort one's [[reality]] in ways which are not believed to be alterable by outside sources.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fs.blog/2017/07/filter-bubbles/|title=How Filter Bubbles Distort Reality: Everything You Need to Know|last=Parrish|first=Shane|date=2017-07-31|website=Farnam Street}}</ref>
{{see also|Algorithmic bias|Misinformation}}

Findings by Tokita et al. (2021) suggest that individuals’ behavior within echo chambers may dampen their access to information even from desirable sources. In highly polarized information environments, individuals who are highly reactive to socially-shared information are more likely than their less reactive counterparts to curate politically homogenous information environments and experience decreased information diffusion in order to avoid overreacting to news they deem unimportant. This makes these individuals more likely to develop extreme opinions and to overestimate the degree to which they are informed.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Tokita |first1=Christopher |last2=Guess |first2=Andrew |last3=Tarnita |first3=Corina |title=Polarized information ecosystems can reorganize social networks via information cascades |journal=PNAS |date=2021 |volume=118 |issue=50 |doi=10.1073/pnas.2102147118|pmid=34876511 |pmc=8685718 |bibcode=2021PNAS..11802147T |doi-access=free }}</ref>

Research has also shown that misinformation can become more viral as a result of echo chambers, as the echo chambers provide an initial seed which can fuel broader viral diffusion.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Törnberg |first1=P. |year=2018 |title=Echo chambers and viral misinformation: Modeling fake news as complex contagion |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=13 |issue=9 |pages=e0203958 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0203958 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2018PLoSO..1303958T }}</ref>

=== Offline communities ===

Many offline communities are also segregated by political [[belief]]s and cultural views. The echo chamber effect may prevent individuals from noticing changes in language and [[Cultural movement|culture]] involving groups other than their own. Online echo chambers can sometimes influence an individual's willingness to participate in similar discussions offline. A 2016 study found that "Twitter users who felt their audience on Twitter agreed with their opinion were more willing to speak out on that issue in the workplace".<ref name=":02"/>

[[Group polarization]] can occur as a result of growing echo chambers. The lack of external viewpoints and the presence of a majority of individuals sharing a similar opinion or narrative can lead to a more extreme belief set. Group polarisation can also aid the current of fake news and misinformation through social media platforms.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Sunstein|first=Cass R.|date=June 2002|title=The Law of Group Polarization|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1467-9760.00148|journal=Journal of Political Philosophy|volume=10|issue=2|pages=175–195|doi=10.1111/1467-9760.00148|issn=0963-8016}}</ref> This can extend to offline interactions, with data revealing that offline interactions can be as polarising as online interactions (Twitter), arguably due to social media-enabled debates being highly fragmented.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Gentzkow|first1=Matthew|last2=Shapiro|first2=Jesse M.|date=November 2011|title=Ideological Segregation Online and Offline *|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjr044|journal=The Quarterly Journal of Economics|volume=126|issue=4|pages=1799–1839|doi=10.1093/qje/qjr044|issn=0033-5533|hdl=1811/52901|hdl-access=free}}</ref>

== Examples  ==
{{See also|List of mass hysteria cases}}
Echo chambers have existed in many forms. Examples cited since the late 20th century include:

* News coverage of the 1980s [[McMartin preschool trial]] was criticized by [[David Shaw (writer)|David Shaw]] in a series of 1990 [[Pulitzer Prize]] winning articles as an echo chamber. Shaw noted that, despite the charges in the trial never being proven, news media reporting on the trial "largely acted in a pack" and "fed on one another", creating an "echo chamber of horrors" where journalists ultimately abandoned journalistic principles and sensationalized coverage to be "the first with the latest shocking allegation".<ref>{{cite news|last1=Shaw|first1=David|url=http://articles.latimes.com/1990-01-19/news/mn-226_1_media-coverage|title=Column One: News Analysis: Where Was Skepticism in Media?: Pack journalism and hysteria marked early coverage of the McMartin case. Few journalists stopped to question the believability of the prosecution's charges.|date=19 January 1990|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref>
*Conservative radio host [[Rush Limbaugh]] and [[The Rush Limbaugh Show|his radio show]] were categorized as an echo chamber in the first empirical study concerning echo chambers by researchers Kathleen Hall Jamieson and Frank Capella in their 2008 book ''Echo Chamber: Rush Limbaugh and the Conservative Media Establishment''.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Jamieson|first1=Kathleen|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/323321712|title=Echo Chamber: Rush Limbaugh and the Conservative Media Establishment|last2=Cappella|first2=Joseph|date=2008-01-01|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-536682-2}}</ref>
* The [[Clinton–Lewinsky scandal]] reporting was chronicled in ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine's 16 February 1998 "Trial by Leaks" cover story<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/0,9263,7601980216,00.html?iid=sr-link2|title=Trial By Leaks |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=16 February 1998 |volume=151 |issue=6 |at=cover}}</ref> "The Press And The Dress: The anatomy of a salacious leak, and how it ricocheted around the walls of the media echo chamber" by [[Adam Cohen (journalist)|Adam Cohen]].<ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Cohen|first1=Adam|url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,987819,00.html?iid=sr-link1|title=The Press And The Dress|date=16 February 1998|magazine=Time}}</ref> This case was also reviewed in depth by the [[Project for Excellence in Journalism]] in "The Clinton/Lewinsky Story: How Accurate? How Fair?"<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/legacy/Clinton-Lewinsky-story.pdf |title=The Clinton/Lewinsky Story: How Accurate? How Fair? |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181222183105/https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/legacy/Clinton-Lewinsky-story.pdf |archive-date=22 December 2018|access-date=12 December 2021}}</ref>
* A ''[[New Statesman]]'' essay argued that echo chambers were linked to the [[United Kingdom]] [[Brexit]] referendum.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newstatesman.com/2016/07/what-eu-referendum-result-teaches-us-about-dangers-echo-chamber|title=What the EU referendum result teaches us about the dangers of the echo chamber|last1=Chater|first1=James|website=[[New Statesman]]|date=6 July 2016 }}</ref>
*The [[Reddit#Subreddits|subreddit]] [[Controversial Reddit communities#Incels|/r/incels]] and other online [[incel]] communities have also been described as echo chambers.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Taub|first=Amanda|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/09/world/americas/incels-toronto-attack.html|title=On Social Media's Fringes, Growing Extremism Targets Women|date=9 May 2018|work=The New York Times|access-date=2018-11-24|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Beauchamp|first=Zack|url=https://www.vox.com/world/2018/4/25/17277496/incel-toronto-attack-alek-minassian|title=Incel, the misogynist ideology that inspired the deadly Toronto attack, explained|date=25 April 2018|work=Vox|access-date=2018-11-24}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.collegian.psu.edu/opinion/columnists/the-government-shouldn-t-let-potential-dangerous-people-go-unnoticed-online/article_51140340-c8dc-11e7-9061-6faec77ded6e.html|title=The government shouldn't let potential dangerous people go unnoticed online|first=Brian Cunningham &#124; The Daily|last=Collegian|website=The Daily Collegian|date=14 November 2017 }}</ref>
* Discussion concerning [[opioid]] drugs and whether or not they should be considered suitable for long-term pain maintenance has been described as an echo chamber capable of affecting drug legislation.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://publicintegrity.org/state-politics/pro-painkiller-echo-chamber-shaped-policy-amid-drug-epidemic/|title=Pro-painkiller echo chamber shaped policy amid drug epidemic|website=Center for Public Integrity|date=19 September 2016 |language=en-us|access-date=2019-06-13}}</ref>
* The [[2016 United States presidential election]] was described as an echo chamber, as information on the campaigns were exchanged primarily among individuals with similar political and ideological views. [[Donald Trump]] and [[Hillary Clinton]] were extremely vocal on [[Twitter]] throughout the electoral campaigns, bringing many vocal opinion leaders to the platform. A study conducted by Guo et. al. showed that Twitter communities in support of Trump and Clinton differed significantly, and those that were most vocal were responsible for creating echo chambers within these communities.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Guo |first1=Lei |last2=A. Rohde |first2=Jacob |last3=Wu |first3=H. Denis |date=2020-01-28 |title=Who is responsible for Twitter's echo chamber problem? Evidence from 2016 U.S. election networks |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2018.1499793 |journal=Information, Communication & Society |volume=23 |issue=2 |pages=234–251 |doi=10.1080/1369118X.2018.1499793 |s2cid=149666263 |issn=1369-118X}}</ref>
* The network of social media accounts and communities harboring and circulating the [[Flat Earth]] theory has been described as an echo chamber.<ref name="auto" />

Since the creation of the internet, scholars have been curious to see the changes in political communication.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=NEUMAN|first=W. RUSSELL|date=July 1996|title=Political Communications Infrastructure|journal=The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science|volume=546|issue=1|pages=9–21 |doi= 10.1177/0002716296546001002 |s2cid=154442316|issn=0002-7162}}</ref> Due to the new changes in information technology and how it is managed, it is unclear how opposing perspectives can reach common ground in a democracy.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Mutz|first=Diana C.|date=March 2001|title=Facilitating Communication across Lines of Political Difference: The Role of Mass Media|journal=American Political Science Review|volume=95|issue=1|pages=97–114|doi=10.1017/s0003055401000223|s2cid=6185156|issn=0003-0554 |url= https://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1125&context=asc_papers}}</ref> The effects seen from the echo chamber effect has largely been cited to occur in politics, such as [[Twitter]]<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Colleoni|first1=Elanor|last2=Rozza|first2=Alessandro|last3=Arvidsson|first3=Adam|date=April 2014|title=Echo Chamber or Public Sphere? Predicting Political Orientation and Measuring Political Homophily in Twitter Using Big Data: Political Homophily on Twitter|url=https://academic.oup.com/joc/article/64/2/317-332/4085994|journal=Journal of Communication|language=en|volume=64|issue=2|pages=317–332 |issn=0021-9916|doi=10.1111/jcom.12084 |hdl-access=free|hdl=10281/66011}}</ref> and [[Facebook]] during the [[2016 United States presidential election|2016 presidential election in the United States]].<ref name="WiredFilter2">{{cite magazine|last1=El-Bermawy|first1=Mostafa|date=2016-11-18|title=Your Filter Bubble is Destroying Democracy|url=https://www.wired.com/2016/11/filter-bubble-destroying-democracy/|magazine=Wired}}</ref> Some believe that echo chambers played a big part in the success of [[Donald Trump]] in the 2016 presidential elections.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Hooton|first1=Christopher|date=10 November 2016|title=Your social media echo chamber is the reason Donald Trump ended up being voted President|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/donald-trump-president-social-media-echo-chamber-hypernormalisation-adam-curtis-protests-blame-a7409481.html|access-date=10 April 2017|website=The Independent}}</ref>

== Countermeasures ==

=== From media companies ===
Some companies have also made efforts in combating the effects of an echo chamber on [[Filter bubble#By media companies|an algorithmic approach]]. A high-profile example of this is the changes Facebook made to its "Trending" page, which is an on-site news source for its users. Facebook modified their "Trending" page by transitioning from displaying a single news source to multiple news sources for a topic or event.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://about.fb.com/news/2017/01/continuing-our-updates-to-trending/|title=Continuing Our Updates to Trending|date=2017-01-25|website=About Facebook|language=en-US|access-date=2020-04-25}}</ref> The intended purpose of this was to expand the breadth of news sources for any given headline, and therefore expose readers to a variety of viewpoints. There are startups building apps with the mission of encouraging users to open their echo chambers, such as ''UnFound.news''.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.livemint.com/Opinion/wyvc380NWO3MJNBiVAcpjJ/Opinion--Echo-chambers-algorithms-and-startups.html|title=Echo chambers, algorithms and start-ups|work=LiveMint|access-date=2018-06-12}}</ref> Another example is a beta feature on [[BuzzFeed News]] called "Outside Your Bubble",<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/outsideyourbubble|title=Outside Your Bubble|website=BuzzFeed|language=en|access-date=2018-03-05}}</ref> which adds a module to the bottom of BuzzFeed News articles to show reactions from various platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Reddit. This concept aims to bring transparency and prevent biased conversations, diversifying the viewpoints their readers are exposed to.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/bensmith/helping-you-see-outside-your-bubble|title=Helping You See Outside Your Bubble|last=Smith|first=Ben|date=February 17, 2017|website=BuzzFeed}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{portal|Journalism}}
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
* [[Algorithmic curation]]
* [[Algorithmic radicalization]]
* [[Availability cascade]]
* [[Circular source]]
* [[Communal reinforcement]]
* [[Dead Internet theory]]
* [[False consensus effect]]
* [[Filter bubble]]
* [[Groupthink]]
* [[Homophily]]
* [[Ideological bias on Wikipedia]]
* [[Infodemic]]
* [[Opinion corridor]]
* [[Positive feedback]]
* [[Safe-space]]
* [[Selective exposure theory]]
* [[Social media stock bubble]]
* [[Splinternet#Interests|Splinternet]]
* [[Tribe (Internet)]]
* [[Woozle effect]]
{{div col end}}

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

{{World view}}
{{Biases}}
{{Conformity}}
{{Media studies}}
{{Media and human factors}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Echo Chamber (Media)}}
[[Category:Influence of mass media]]
[[Category:Mass media issues]]
[[Category:Media bias]]
[[Category:Public opinion]]
[[Category:Propaganda techniques]]
[[Category:Social influence]]
[[Category:Sociology of technology]]