Keywords: New sources of information on public opinion and the use of social media to voice public opinion

The internet and SNS provide users access to a multitude of very different opinions. When receiving information via SNS that differ from those published in established news media, users can perceive “conflicting realities”, i.e. a discrepancy between how the news media and users’ personal online environment depict reality. It has been theorized that such a discrepancy may motivate users to publicly voice alternative perceptions in the comment sections of news media (Toepfl & Piwoni, 2017). We therefore investigate the relationship between users’ SNS use, their perceived online opinion climate, and their willingness to publicly voice alternative positions.

Research on Filter Bubbles suggests that SNS algorithms dynamically adapt to the habits of usage and thereby become increasingly personalized (Schulz & Rössler, 2012). This process may lead to the impression that one’s online environment is congruent with one’s own positions (H1). This perceived congruency is in turn an important predictor of individuals’ public outspokenness (general mechanism: spiral of silence, Noelle-Neumann, 1993; for online environments: Gearhart & Zhang, 2015). Thus, individuals perceiving that their online environment supports their positions should be more willing to publicly speak out these positions in comment sections of news media. However, only users who perceive discrepancies between their own positions and the positions of the news media should publish alternative positions in comment sections. We therefore assume a positive relationship between SNS use, perceived opinion climate congruency, and voicing alternative positions in comment sections for those who hold highly critical beliefs toward established news media (H2).

Method. We analyzed a subsample of users from a representative CATI survey of the German population, who engage in online discussions at least occasionally (n = 411). Our independent variable was frequency of SNS use to get information about politics. Perceived consonance of one’s online environment with one’s own opinion and respondents’ willingness to publicly voice alternative positions in comment sections were operationalized using three items each. Critical attitudes towards news media were measured via established media skepticism scales (Tsfati & Ariely, 2014, all α > .80). Respondents’ general use of the internet served as a control variable.

Results. PROCESS analyses revealed that the frequency of SNS use significantly increased respondents’ perception that the online opinion climate is congruent with their own positions (H1 supported), which in turn positively predicted respondents’ willingness to voice alternative positions via online comments. This mediation was moderated by users’ media skepticism (H2 supported); only highly skeptical users were willing to voice alternative positions when they perceived their online opinion environment as congruent.

Discussion. Our study shows that frequent SNS use for information purposes can increase skeptical users’ willingness to publicly voice alternative positions in comment sections. Regarding normative evaluations, it essentially depends on the specific nature of the alternative perspectives. When thinking about fake news and conspiracy theories, which are particularly propagated by populist political actors, these mechanisms may lead to more misinformation. However, with respect to minority positions or substantial information missed by traditional news media, these mechanisms may also enrich the public discourse