A glimpse into the rightwing echo chamber

So what exactly does all this NSF-funded research on obscure subjects get us, after all? Well, how about this excellent graph of how information spreads (and evolves – i.e. gets distorted in the process) through the rightwing blogosphere? The image below is courtesy of Harvard’s David Lazer whose own research was recently singled out by ...

So what exactly does all this NSF-funded research on obscure subjects get us, after all? Well, how about this excellent graph of how information spreads (and evolves - i.e. gets distorted in the process) through the rightwing blogosphere? The image below is courtesy of Harvard's David Lazer whose own research was recently singled out by Sen Tom Coburn; it aims to visualize how various rightwing blogs have picked up and amplified Coburn's criticism. This provides a pretty good insight into how well-integtrated and networked the new media empire of the right really is: 

So what exactly does all this NSF-funded research on obscure subjects get us, after all? Well, how about this excellent graph of how information spreads (and evolves – i.e. gets distorted in the process) through the rightwing blogosphere? The image below is courtesy of Harvard’s David Lazer whose own research was recently singled out by Sen Tom Coburn; it aims to visualize how various rightwing blogs have picked up and amplified Coburn’s criticism. This provides a pretty good insight into how well-integtrated and networked the new media empire of the right really is: 

Node colors correspond to dates (28: white, 29: light gray, 30: dark gray). Time flows left to right, where the variations within each day reflect publication time of day, but only in an “eyeballing” sense. Link weights are encoded white: explicit mention, black: shared text, grey: both. Arrows point from destination node to source

More from Lazer:

And as the signal propagates it evolves. Thus, for example, Stossel quotes from the Heritage blog, but then adds his distinct emphasis. The link and copying structure reflects the attention each blogger is paying to other blogs, however one would guess that each blog has a different but overlapping audience…

 I don’t know about you, but I want more, not less, of such research funded – and to study left-wing blogospheres/echo-chambers too. 

 

Evgeny Morozov is a fellow at the Open Society Institute and sits on the board of OSI's Information Program. He writes the Net Effect blog on ForeignPolicy.com

More from Foreign Policy

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping give a toast during a reception following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow on March 21.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping give a toast during a reception following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow on March 21.

Can Russia Get Used to Being China’s Little Brother?

The power dynamic between Beijing and Moscow has switched dramatically.

Xi and Putin shake hands while carrying red folders.
Xi and Putin shake hands while carrying red folders.

Xi and Putin Have the Most Consequential Undeclared Alliance in the World

It’s become more important than Washington’s official alliances today.

Russian President Vladimir Putin greets Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
Russian President Vladimir Putin greets Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

It’s a New Great Game. Again.

Across Central Asia, Russia’s brand is tainted by Ukraine, China’s got challenges, and Washington senses another opening.

Kurdish military officers take part in a graduation ceremony in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, on Jan. 15.
Kurdish military officers take part in a graduation ceremony in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, on Jan. 15.

Iraqi Kurdistan’s House of Cards Is Collapsing

The region once seemed a bright spot in the disorder unleashed by U.S. regime change. Today, things look bleak.