TL;DR
This study analyzes the structure and dynamics of a large ecosystem of hyper-partisan websites around the 2016 US elections, revealing patterns of linkages, activity, and demographic engagement that reinforce partisan filter bubbles.
Contribution
It provides a comprehensive analysis of the online ecosystem of partisan websites, highlighting their linking practices, lifecycle, and demographic targeting, which was previously underexplored.
Findings
Right-leaning sites are more evolved and account for more abandoned websites.
Partisan websites form internal link networks reinforcing filter bubbles.
Demographic groups tend to consume more right-leaning news.
Abstract
This paper aims to shed light on alternative news media ecosystems that are believed to have influenced opinions and beliefs by false and/or biased news reporting during the 2016 US Presidential Elections. We examine a large, professionally curated list of 668 hyper-partisan websites and their corresponding Facebook pages, and identify key characteristics that mediate the traffic flow within this ecosystem. We uncover a pattern of new websites being established in the run up to the elections, and abandoned after. Such websites form an ecosystem, creating links from one website to another, and by `liking' each others' Facebook pages. These practices are highly effective in directing user traffic internally within the ecosystem in a highly partisan manner, with right-leaning sites linking to and liking other right-leaning sites and similarly left-leaning sites linking to other sites on…
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