When Donald Trump won the presidential election in 2016, nobody, including the “main stream media” could’ve predicted it, or could they? The news we consume every day informs our opinions and sets infallible truths upon which we base our reality. This collection of sources, also referred to as our “filter bubble,” as a recent NYT article explains, may be the reason for democratic voters’ shock towards the results of the election. However, democrats aren’t the only ones finding themselves adrift in their bubbles, republicans -Trump supporters, to be exact- are too.
It is a fault of those that stay informed, myself included, to search for headlines and talking points that confirm our biases. As the NYT article states, “the filter bubble describes the tendency of social networks like Facebook and Twitter to lock users into personalized feedback loops, each with its own news sources, cultural touchstones and political inclinations…they keep us clicking from one self-affirmation to another.” Sure, these information bubbles exist, but why did the results of the 2016 election seemingly blindside everyone besides those who supported Trump? An MIT Media Lab analysis confirmed that “Trump supporters ‘exist in their own information bubble,’ and that journalists didn’t let Trump supporters into their bubbles, either.” This may explain why the mainstream media failed to catch onto the widespread popularity Donald Trump had attained.
As we enter into yet another election year, it will be more important than ever to be cognizant of our own bubbles as well as those of others. Objective truth has seemingly evaporated throughout the course of Donald Trump’s first term, and it will be the job of everyone, not just liberals and conservatives, to combat disinformation, misinformation, and lies. To read more about filter bubbles and how to break out of your own, click here.
LIS 4022 Spring 2020 