Events and Controversies: Influences of a Shocking News Event on Information Seeking
Danai Koutra, Paul Bennett, Eric Horvitz

TL;DR
This study investigates how shocking news events, like mass shootings, influence online information-seeking behavior and access to diverse viewpoints on polarizing topics such as gun control, using information-theoretic measures.
Contribution
It introduces a method to quantify changes in browsing diversity and patterns following emotionally charged news events, focusing on a polarizing issue.
Findings
Search diversity increases after mass shootings.
Browsing patterns shift towards more diverse viewpoints.
News events significantly influence information-seeking behavior.
Abstract
It has been suggested that online search and retrieval contributes to the intellectual isolation of users within their preexisting ideologies, where people's prior views are strengthened and alternative viewpoints are infrequently encountered. This so-called "filter bubble" phenomenon has been called out as especially detrimental when it comes to dialog among people on controversial, emotionally charged topics, such as the labeling of genetically modified food, the right to bear arms, the death penalty, and online privacy. We seek to identify and study information-seeking behavior and access to alternative versus reinforcing viewpoints following shocking, emotional, and large-scale news events. We choose for a case study to analyze search and browsing on gun control/rights, a strongly polarizing topic for both citizens and leaders of the United States. We study the period of time…
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Taxonomy
TopicsMisinformation and Its Impacts · Social Media and Politics · Spam and Phishing Detection
