1. Market segmentation which encouraged the creation of niche echo chambers, within which misinformation that confirmed and strengthened biases

2. The amplification of inflammatory posts based on the amount and intensity of the comments/likes/retweets/shares they elicited

Additionally, the Russian government, an external entity with greater efficacy in the virtual space given its experience with ransomware, utility hacking, and specifically using bots to exploit algorithms, intervened and exerted its influence according to its own motives.

It makes me wonder about the idea of the "public sphere" and whether or not we can truly argue that there is one anymore. Some say it exists online, that the "virtual public" has surpassed and replaced the "public sphere" and that the rise of the Internet has ensured that anyone with access to the net and to platforms such as Facebook and Twitter have a say. But what is the value of "my opinion" online, what is my voice worth?

A brief intro to the basics of filters, algorithms and echo-chambers.

https://gizmodo.com/a-new-study-from-facebook-reveals-just-how-much-it-filt-1702900877

If you are interested in the topic I suggest the following as well:

https://medium.com/hci-design-at-uw/information-wars-a-window-into-the-alternative-media-ecosystem-a1347f32fd8f

-- MadihaZahrahChoksi - 02 Oct 2017