Cross-cutting Exposure Research Articles

When Disagreement Becomes Uncivil on Social Media: The Role of Passive Receiving and Active Expression of Incivility in Influencing Political Polarization

Exposure to cross-cutting viewpoints may not always play the deliberative role it is supposed to. This study uses both panel survey and social media data to examine how disagreement can trigger incivility, including exposure to and expression of incivility, and further elicit emotions and influence polarization. Results from the two-wave panel survey indicate that cross-cutting exposure has a polarizing effect first through promoting exposure to uncivil messages and expression of uncivil opinions, then through negative emotions. Notably, cross-cutting exposure can indirectly reduce polarization by first encouraging expression of uncivil opinions and then eliciting positive emotions, highlighting the importance of active expression. Analysis of data from the Hong Kong-based discussion forum HKDisc demonstrates that cross-cutting exposure is positively related to exposure to uncivil messages, and exposure to and expression of incivility predict polarization regardless of whether positive or negative emotions are detected in the uncivil content. This study provides empirical evidence of the effects of cross-cutting exposure and incivility on polarization at the individual and collective levels.

Cross-cutting exposure to the Spanish public broadcasting system: influence of ideology, partisanship, and interest in politics on RTVE’s consumption

According to the selective exposure hypothesis, media consumption is determined by the ideological predispositions of individuals, who aim to confirm their opinions through media content. This research explores the role of the public state-owned radio and television corporation, Radio Televisión Española (RTVE), as a facilitator of transversal exposure, that is, consumption that is not aligned with individuals’ prior convictions. Through a quantitative methodology based on contingency tables and the calculation of corrected typed residuals, and through the CIS post-electoral studies, we analyse the relevance of ideology, partisan identification and interest in public issues as predictors of public television and radio consumption over a period of 11 years (2008-2019) in Spain. The results indicate that being a voter of the party in government and sharing its ideology are related to a higher likelihood of consuming RTVE television channels. In addition, the results show a higher transversal exposure of public radio, compared to television, which is more strongly influenced by the ideology and partisanship of the audiences.

Better Informed or Stay Naïve? Revisiting Different Types of Selective Exposure and the Impact on Political Learning

ABSTRACT This study extends the concept of selective exposure by examining different types of selectivity, including topical selectivity (entertainment vs. hard news), information channel selectivity (social media vs. traditional media), and ideological selectivity (like-minded vs. cross-cutting exposure). Drawing on a two-wave panel survey of American netizens (N = 834), this study revisits the debate about the potential of selective exposure to enhance or erode political learning. Results show that both topical and information channel selectivity directly reduce audience’s political knowledge while ideological selectivity does not significantly affect political learning. Topical selectivity reduces political knowledge indirectly through decreased offline political discussion, while ideological selectivity enhances political knowledge gain indirectly through increased offline political discussion. Online political discussion fails to mediate the relationships between all three types of selectivity and political knowledge since it does not have a significant relationship with political knowledge. The findings imply that the prevalence of entertainment media and social media use may even enlarge existing political knowledge gaps. In addition, the political knowledge gained by ideological selective exposure is also dangerous because it could be less comprehensive, unbalanced, and attitudinally biased.

Auditing YouTube's recommendation system for ideologically congenial, extreme, and problematic recommendations.

Algorithms of social media platforms are often criticized for recommending ideologically congenial and radical content to their users. Despite these concerns, evidence on such filter bubbles and rabbit holes of radicalization is inconclusive. We conduct an audit of the platform using 100,000 sock puppets that allow us to systematically and at scale isolate the influence of the algorithm in recommendations. We test 1) whether recommended videos are congenial with regard to users' ideology, especially deeper in the watch trail and whether 2) recommendations deeper in the trail become progressively more extreme and come from problematic channels. We find that YouTube's algorithm recommends congenial content to its partisan users, although some moderate and cross-cutting exposure is possible and that congenial recommendations increase deeper in the trail for right-leaning users. We do not find meaningful increases in ideological extremity of recommendations deeper in the trail, yet we show that a growing proportion of recommendations comes from channels categorized as problematic (e.g., "IDW," "Alt-right," "Conspiracy," and "QAnon"), with this increase being most pronounced among the very-right users. Although the proportion of these problematic recommendations is low (max of 2.5%), they are still encountered by over 36.1% of users and up to 40% in the case of very-right users.

Cross-cutting exposures on social network sites. The moderating role of national environments

This study explores how social network sites (SNSs) expose users to cross-cutting views. Relying on cross-national data collected among French and Japanese users of Facebook and Twitter, the design of this study allows assessment of the extent to which active and passive social media use fosters cross-cutting exposure in different national contexts. The results show that SNS use is differently related to cross-cutting exposures depending on forms of usage: while active SNS use is associated with a decrease in cross-cutting exposures, passive use leads to more exposure to dissonant views. This study also acknowledges significant variations across national subsamples, questioning the generalizability of results obtained from single case studies.

Impact of Online Cross-Cutting Exposure on Political Participation & Social Anxiety

Impact of Online Cross-Cutting Exposure on Political Participation & Social Anxiety

Reconceptualizing Cross-Cutting Political Expression on Social Media: A Case Study of Facebook Comments During the 2016 Brexit Referendum

ABSTRACT Political communication research has long sought to understand the effects of cross-cutting exposure on political participation. Here, we argue for a paradigm shift that acknowledges the agency of citizens as producers of cross-cutting expression on social media. We define cross-cutting expression as political communication through speech or behavior within a counter-attitudinal space. After explicating our conceptualization of cross-cutting expression, we empirically explore: its extent, its relationship to political arguments, and its implications for digital campaigning during the 2016 Brexit Referendum. Our dataset, comprising 2,198,741 comments from 344,884 users, is built from Facebook comments to three public campaign pages active during the Brexit referendum: StrongerIn, VoteLeave, and LeaveEU. We utilize reactions data to sort partisans into “Remain” and “Brexit” camps and, thereafter, chart users’ commenting flows across the three pages. We estimate 29% of comments to be cross-cutting, and we find strong correlations between cross-cutting expression and reasoned political arguments. Then, to better understand how cross-cutting expression may influence political participation on social media, we topic model the dataset to identify the political themes discussed during the Brexit debate on Facebook. Our findings suggest that political Facebook pages are not echo chambers, that cross-cutting expression correlates with reasoned political arguments, and that cross-cutting expression may influence the online voter mobilization potential of political Facebook pages.

Engender tolerance and participation in polarized gender issues: the mediating role of discussion in cross-cutting exposure

ABSTRACT This study revisited the deliberation-participation paradox by analyzing the relationship between exposure and both deliberative tolerance and civic participation in the context of gender equality among women and men. Survey data collected from Chinese adults revealed no significant direct effects from cross-cutting exposure to either deliberative tolerance or civic participation. However, a negative mediating effect through perceived polarization and a positive mediating effect through cross-cutting discussion were observed. Additionally, the results confirmed that perceived incivility plays a moderating role, attenuating the beneficial effects of cross-cutting exposure and strengthening the negative indirect effects. These findings suggest differential effects between cross-cutting exposure and cross-cutting discussion. The results also underscore the importance of building a civil and depolarized communication environment to encourage deliberation and participation in China.

Hearing and speaking the other side: The roles of expression and opinion climate perception in political polarization

The role of cross-cutting exposure in political polarization has long been discussed. Building on this literature, we proposed a moderated mediation model in which cross-cutting exposure is linked to political polarization, especially affective polarization, differently through different types of political expression, and furthermore these indirect effects of cross-cutting exposure are moderated by opinion climate perception. To test this model, we used data collected by a multi-method approach in the context of a South Korean presidential election: (a) digital trace data of online discussion behavior (i.e., exposure and expression) in the online discussion forum custom built for this study, combined with (b) traditional three-wave panel surveys. Results indicate that cross-cutting exposure increased cross-cutting expression while having no effect on like-minded expression. Cross-cutting expression was then found to reduce affective polarization and attitude extremity. Furthermore, the mediation by cross-cutting expression between cross-cutting exposure and attitude extremity was amplified when participants perceived their opinion to be on the majority side, but such moderation effect was not significant on affective polarization. Implications were discussed regarding ‘hearing the other side’ and ‘speaking the other side.’

How Does Multi-Platform Social Media Use Lead to Biased News Engagement? Examining the Role of Counter-Attitudinal Incidental Exposure, Cognitive Elaboration, and Network Homogeneity

Using an online panel survey in the United States, this study examines how multi-platform social media use impacts news engagement on social media. Results show that multi-platform social media use prompts incidental exposure to counter-attitudinal news and further encourages people to cognitively elaborate on the counter-attitudinal information, which in turn contributes to news engagement on social media. However, news engagement is performed in a biased way that is supportive of like-minded content and non-supportive of counter-attitudinal content. Furthermore, the indirect effect of multi-platform social media use on biased news engagement becomes stronger when one’s network is more homogeneous. Although studies have pointed to the democratic prospects of multi-platform social media use as it leads to cross-cutting exposure, our results suggest that it could lead users to engage with news in ways that confirm their pre-existing attitudes and disconfirm counter-attitudinal ones.

The Effects of the COVID-19 Outbreak on Selective Exposure: Evidence from 17 Countries

ABSTRACT A widely believed claim is that citizens tend to selectively expose themselves to like-minded information. However, when individuals find the information useful, they are more likely to consume cross-cutting sources. While crises such as terror attacks and pandemics can enhance the utility of cross-cutting information, empirical evidence on the role of real-world external threats in selective exposure is scarce. This paper examines the COVID-19 pandemic as a case study to test the extent to which citizens were exposed to information from cross-cutting sources on traditional and social media after the outbreak. Utilizing a two-wave panel survey among 14,218 participants across 17 countries – conducted before and after the initial outbreak – we show that citizens concerned about COVID-19 were more exposed to cross-cutting information on traditional and social media. The positive relationship with cross-cutting exposure to traditional news was stronger in countries where governments adopted less stringent policy responses, and in countries with greater pandemic severity and weaker democratic institutions. Our comparative approach thus sheds light on the social and political contexts in which cross-cutting exposure can occur.

Testing the Effect of Cross-cutting Exposure to Cable TV News on Affective Polarization: Evidence from the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election

ABSTRACT This study tests whether the consequences of cross-cutting exposure (CCE) to political news on affective polarization depend on the type of media individuals consume. Findings from the 2020 American National Election Studies panel data suggest that CCE to cable TV news, a medium frequently described as uncivil, may increase negative affect toward the out-party candidate, and that such effect may be mediated by feelings of anger and certainty in one’s political attitudes. These insights draw attention to elite incivility, in addition to citizens’ partisan predispositions, as a potential contributor to the growing affective divide in American politics.

Cross-Cutting exposure, perceived realism, and online political engagement in the age of algorithms

ABSTRACT Considering the implications of cross-cutting exposure for democratic deliberation in the age of algorithms, this study proposes a conceptual model that delineates the roles of perceived realism and approval of algorithmic curation in the relationship between cross-cutting exposure and online political engagement. Secondary data obtained from the 2018 national survey conducted by the Taiwan Institute for Governance and Communication Research were utilized to test the relationships. The results indicated a negative association between cross-cutting exposure and online political engagement. The significant mediation model further showed that exposure to cross-cutting perspectives on social media was negatively associated with online political engagement by way of decreased perceived realism. That association was conditioned by the level of approval of algorithmic curation, which weakened the negative mediating role of perceived realism as it increased. Implications of those results and directions for future research are discussed.

The effect of cross-cutting exposure on attitude change: examining the mediating role of response behaviors and the moderating role of openness to diversity and social network homogeneity

ABSTRACT Using nationally representative data in Taiwan, this study investigated the effect of cross-cutting exposure on social media on attitudinal change. Findings showed that the way people responded to political disagreement on social media matters. People’s attitudes were likely to change when they checked cross-cutting information and expressed opinion after being exposed to it, but not when they ignored the disagreeing information after the exposure. Accordingly, checking disagreeing information and expressing opinion played a significant role in mediating the relationship between exposure to cross-cutting information and attitude change. More importantly, the indirect effect of cross-cutting exposure on attitude through information checking was contingent on the levels of individuals’ openness to diversity and social network homogeneity. The indirect effect was strengthened when the level of openness to diversity was higher but weakened when the level of social network homogeneity was higher. Implications of the findings are discussed.

Social Media Skills and Social Media Political Expression: The Mediating Role of Pro-Attitudinal and Cross-Cutting Exposure

Individuals’ ability to use social media effectively, efficiently, and appropriately is increasingly important as these platforms become a common source for news and political expression. Differences in social media skills have important implications for politics, potentially generating a democratic divide. The present study examines the extent to which an individual’s perceptions of information navigation and social skills, two dimensions of social media skills, are related to social media political expression through cross-cutting exposure and pro-attitudinal exposure. Survey results show that social media skills are positively related to social media political expression through pro-attitudinal exposure, and social media skills hold a direct negative relationship with social media political expression. Implications of a social media skills divide and its relationship with social media political expression are discussed.

Making cross-cutting exposure more deliberative: The moderating role of the equality rule in online discussions on a gender issue

Contrary to the normative emphasis on the rule of equality in the deliberation literature, little has been known about empirical consequences of the rule of equality, especially when applied in online discussions where political disagreement is prevalent. Given that hostile gender-related discussions have been noticeably increasing in South Korea, we investigated whether applying deliberative rules, especially cross-cutting exposure and equality, can improve gender-issue discussion quality and foster mutual understanding and healthy political engagement. For this purpose, we designed an online experiment involving moderated deliberations on the abolition of the national abortion ban via KakaoTalk, the most popular messenger platform in South Korea. The deliberative qualities of online discussions in terms of rationality and civility were assessed in a more objective and unobtrusive way: a content analysis of actual conversation transcripts. Participatory intention for gender issue-related activities and civic attitudes were also measured. Results indicate the equality rule can help to promote normatively desirable outcomes in discussions with disagreeing others while the positive effects of cross-cutting exposure were found limited. When combined with the rule of equality, hearing the other side meaningfully enhanced the deliberative qualities and participatory intentions of discussants.

Judging “Them” by My Media Use: Exploring the Cause and Consequences of Perceived Selective Exposure

ABSTRACT Focusing on Hong Kong’s anti-extradition bill movement and drawing on a sample of 527 pro-democracy Hong Kong students, this paper investigates the relations among selective exposure, perceived selective exposure, presumed media influence, and their potential consequences. It shows that individuals’ assumption of the outgroup’s media diet is a mirror image of their own media choices. The more an individual consumes like-minded information, the more he/she expects outgroup members to do so. On the contrary, the more one uses cross-cutting media, the more he/she expects outgroup members to engage in cross-cutting exposure as well. Individuals’ perceived media exposure of the outgroup will further influence their presumed media influence on the outgroup, which may trigger potential attitudinal and behavioral reactions. The findings shed new light on the consequences of selective exposure. Besides directly influencing us through pro-attitudinal information, selective exposure can also affect us indirectly, by making us believe that our rivals are also engaging in and polarized by selective exposure to ideologically congruent sources.

First-order linkage analysis (Frequently Applied Designs)

First-order linkage analysis (Frequently Applied Designs)

Assessing (In)accuracy and Biases in Self-reported Measures of Exposure to Disagreement: Evidence from Linkage Analysis Using Digital Trace Data

ABSTRACT Citizen’s exposure to disagreement – whether intentional or incidental – is a central concept in communication research, yet the precise degree to which citizens are exposed to opposing views online and the antecedents to this phenomenon continue to be debated. Despite the theoretical importance of this question, empirical assessments of cross-cutting exposure, especially those involving online settings, are largely based on individuals’ perception of their own behavior. Therefore, we know little regarding response bias in self-reports of cross-cutting exposure online. Combining digital trace data with a panel survey, we observe overreporting of self-reported online cross-cutting exposure. We then demonstrate that self-reported exposure to disagreement is retrospectively conditioned by the perception of the opinion climate in a given context. Finally, using Monte Carlo simulations, we examine the consequences of relying on (potentially imperfect) self-reported measures.

Presidential debates and voter decision making

ABSTRACT Research suggests that televised debates, which create a rare but valuable environment of cross-cutting exposure, result in partisan reinforcement and polarization. Extending this line of inquiry, the present study aims to provide a more nuanced understanding of debate effects by re-conceptualizing their nature and boundary. Analyses of national survey data collected in two election cycles demonstrate that debate viewing strengthens a voter’s decision-making routine whereby partisan identity informs political opinions. This pattern of partisan reinforcement by debate viewing was observed for both debated and non-debated issues, suggesting that debate effects transcend the context of any given debate. Discussion focuses on electoral and democratic implications of presidential debates.