Biased perceptions of public opinion don't define echo chambers but reveal systematic differences in political awareness.

ABSTRACT: Echo chambers are widely acknowledged as a feature of online discourse and current politics: a phenomenon arising when people selectively engage with like-minded others and are shielded from opposing ideas. Various studies have operationalized the concept through studying opinions, interactions, reinforcement or group identity. Echo chambers both feed and are fed by the false consensus effect, whereby people overestimate the degree to which others share their views, with algorithmic filtering of social media also a contributing factor. Although there is strong evidence that meta-opinions - that is, people's perceptions of others' opinions - often fail to reflect reality, no attempt has been made to explore the space of meta-opinions, or detect echo chambers within this space. We created a

SUBMITTER: Cooper CHV 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12178016 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature