Xabier Rezola

Date of Award

2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Gorup, Michael

Area of Concentration

Political Science

Abstract

The creation of social media and news outlets have triggered an increase in political polarization, more specifically affective polarization. Proliferation of misinformation/disinformation, algorithms pushing people into filter bubbles, selective exposure leading to the development of echo chambers are just some of the ways social media can become extremely unhealthy and give way to high levels of affective polarization. There is no need to fret, not yet, as there are ways to mitigate the issue of affective political polarization, this thesis intends to look at these ways while attempting to answer the question “To what extent does affective polarization exist on social media platforms (more specifically Twitter and Facebook) and what potential mitigation strategies can be brought about to mitigate the levels of affective polarization?” The purpose of this thesis is to take a look into the way that social media is used and how it can worsen the effects of political polarization in an affective context. Four strategies have been proposed to mitigate the means of affective polarization; Counter narratives, algorithmic adjustments, media literacy, and fact checking. Through the literature it is drawn that fact checking and media literacy are the best course of action to take when it comes to lowering levels of affective polarization. The end goal is to provide a comprehensive understanding as to how political polarization through social media happens, how this impacts people, and to what extent can political polarization via social media be diminished.

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