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arXiv · 2003.06857

Can Celebrities Burst Your Bubble?

Tuğrulcan Elmas·Kristina Hardi·Rebekah Overdorf·Karl Aberer
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Abstract

Polarization is a growing, global problem. As such, many social media based solutions have been proposed in order to reduce it. In this study, we propose a new solution that recommends topics to celebrities to encourage them to join a polarized debate and increase exposure to contrarian content - bursting the filter bubble. Using a state-of-the art model that quantifies the degree of polarization, this paper makes a first attempt to empirically answer the question: Can celebrities burst filter bubbles? We use a case study to analyze how people react when celebrities are involved in a controversial topic and conclude with a list possible research directions.

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Tuğrulcan Elmas, Kristina Hardi, Rebekah Overdorf, Karl Aberer. 2020-03-15. Can Celebrities Burst Your Bubble?. https://arxiv.org/abs/2003.06857

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