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Social media echo chambers radicalize people

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By Tom Campbell via SWNS

Social media "echo chambers" are radicalising people who believe their morals match everyone else's in the group, warns a new study.

Members of online communities whose views are constantly being reinforced by others are more likely to become violent, say scientists.

Understanding how some people become radicalized online has become a priority for security services, especially since the storming of the Capitol earlier this year showed just how far some people are willing to go.

Now, scientists have narrowed down what kind of language people who are at risk of becoming radicalised use in their posts, some of whom may be willing to die defending their group's values.

"In our research, we find that the more people are in morally homogeneous environments, the more likely they are to resort to radical means to defend themselves and their values," said author Dr. Mohammad Atari at Harvard University.

The researchers examined more than 25 million internet posts on Gab, a social media network which attracts far-right users, including voices like Richard Spencer and Alex Jones.

They found users were more likely to use derogatory language against other groups if their posts aligned with others on Gab.

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In another study, 900,000 posts from an online community on the website Reddit, which had been created for people who identify as “involuntary celibates”, also known as incels were, analyzed by the researchers.

Incels are people who define themselves as unable to attract a romantic or sexual partner despite desiring one and frequently post hateful or violent comments about women.

People who believed their views were endorsed by the wider group were again more likely to become radicalized, the researchers found.

“People who find themselves in a 'bubble' so to speak, wherein their ideas, beliefs, and values are strongly reinforced, could go on to form a visceral bond with their in-group," said Atari.

“In these situations, people might engage in radical acts to defend their in-group, ranging in intensity from an outrage-filled tweet to attacking a federal building.”

Three more studies were carried out to see whether leading people to believe that their group, whether made up or real, shared the same moral views would increase their radical intentions.

Participants who believed their views were supported by their peers were "much more likely" to display radical behavior to protect and, to a lesser extent, fight or die for the group.

Data was mainly collected from people in the United States and so should not be generalized, the researchers caution.

Also, more research is needed to understand whether having different moral views on a person's social media feed could help combat radicalization.

"What I am more convinced of is that putting yourself in an extremely homogeneous environment wherein nobody disagrees with your values, or cheers ‘hell yeah!’ is not a great environment to be in and it might even radicalize you," said Atari.

The findings were published in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science.

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