Search Engines and Filter Bubbles During the 2020 US Elections
Type
presentation
Date Issued
2020-03-31
Author(s)
Abstract
Search engines play a central role in routing political information to citizens. The algorithmic personalization of search results by large search engines like Google implies that different users may be offered systematically different information. However, measuring the causal effect of user characteristics and behavior on search results in a politically relevant context is challenging. We set up a population of 150 synthetic internet users (“bots”) who are randomly located across 25 US cities and are active for several months during the 2020 US Elections and their aftermath. These users differ in their browsing preferences and political ideology, and they build up realistic browsing and search histories. We run daily experiments in which all users enter the same election-related queries. Search results to these queries differ substantially across users. Google prioritizes previously visited websites and local news sites. Yet, it does not generally prioritize websites featuring the user’s ideology.
Language
English
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
HSG Profile Area
SEPS - Quantitative Economic Methods
Event Title
5th Economics of Media Bias Workshop,
Event Location
WZB Berlin
Event Date
31.3.-01.4.2022
Division(s)
Eprints ID
268126