Abstract
Social media platforms provide several social interactional features. Due to the large scale reach of social media, these interactional features help enable various types of political discourse. Constructive and diversified discourse is important for sustaining healthy communities and reducing the impact of echo chambers. In this paper, we empirically examine the role of a newly introduced Twitter feature, 'quote retweets' (or 'quote RTs') in political discourse, specifically whether it has led to improved, civil, and balanced exchange. Quote RTs allow users to quote the tweet they retweet, while adding a short comment. Our analysis using content, network and crowd labeled data indicates that the feature has increased political discourse and its diffusion, compared to existing features. We discuss the implications of our findings in understanding and reducing online polarization.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | WebSci 2016 - Proceedings of the 2016 ACM Web Science Conference |
Publisher | ACM |
Pages | 200-204 |
Number of pages | 5 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9781450342087 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 22 May 2016 |
MoE publication type | A4 Article in a conference publication |
Event | ACM Web Science Conference - Hannover, Germany Duration: 22 May 2016 → 25 May 2016 Conference number: 8 |
Conference
Conference | ACM Web Science Conference |
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Abbreviated title | WebSci |
Country/Territory | Germany |
City | Hannover |
Period | 22/05/2016 → 25/05/2016 |