Disciplining the digital public: Platform mechanisms and the dynamics of emotional polarization
Changrong Lu, Dan Qin, Jiali Huang, Bing Pang, Andrea Cioffi, Andrea Cioffi, Andrea Cioffi, Andrea Cioffi · 2026
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Description
Changrong Lu, Dan Qin, Jiali Huang, and Bing Pang studied in 2026 how large online platforms shape public feeling and opinion. They propose that design choices, ranking systems, and feedback loops act as a kind of discipline on users. Over time, these forces may sort users into more sharply opposed emotional camps.
The team linked a daily measure of emotional division, drawn from news sentiment, to measures of tech activity in research records. After 2020, the division measure became more persistent over time. It also tracked more strongly with simpler designs and with features built around emotional response. The authors argue that rules should look at these structural forces, not just at content removal.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Changrong Lu, Dan Qin, Jiali Huang, Bing Pang, Andrea Cioffi, Andrea Cioffi, Andrea Cioffi, Andrea Cioffi |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 151 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |