Opinions, Bots, and Public Spaces

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingBook chapterResearchpeer-review

What is the real distribution of various attitudes or opinions across social media? A lesson from social psychology gives reason to believe that people, with negligible exceptions, assess and navigate socially on the basis of what other people express to believe or know. This is in line with the principle of social proof (Cialdini 2009) – referring to the group dynamics that are created when people make decisions upon what they believe other people believe or know. While social proof is signal-based, the reason for the signal may be hidden: When somebody expresses something on a digital platform, different digital expressions are available such as “Like”s, becoming a “follower,” sharing of content, up‑votes, and comments. But in the digital world, it is not always obvious that liking or sharing something articulate endorsing what is liked or shared. The motives can be different from person to person, and sometimes if content is auto-generated by fake profiles then motives may not exists. Signals – however – do persist.
Original languageDanish
Title of host publicationEthical Basis of Human Security : Towards Renewal of Peace Operations Training
EditorsArto Mutanen
Number of pages9
Place of PublicationHelsinki
PublisherThe Finnish Defence Forces
Publication date11 Aug 2017
Pages26-34
Chapter3
ISBN (Print)978-951-25-2927-8
ISBN (Electronic)978-951-25-2928-5
Publication statusPublished - 11 Aug 2017

ID: 181994373