Tags:Black Lives Matter, Echo chambers and Online communication networks
Abstract:
Echo chambers can be described as situations in which individuals encounter and interact only with viewpoints that confirm their own, thus moving, as a group, to more polarized and extreme positions. Recent literature mainly focuses on characterizing such entities via static observations, thus disregarding their temporal dimension. In this work, distancing from such a trend, we study, at multiple topological levels, echo chambers genesis related to the social discussions that took place in Italy during the EURO 2020 Championship. Our analysis focuses on a well-defined topic (i.e., BLM/racism) discussed on Twitter during a perfect temporally bound (sporting) event. Such characteristics allow us to track the rise and evolution of echo chambers in time, thus relating their existence to specific episodes.
Will You Take the Knee? Italian Twitter Echo Chambers' Genesis During EURO 2020