Affective Polarization, Media Outlets, and Opinion Dynamics

Sebastiano Della Lena, Luca Merlino and Yves Zenou

No 18508, CEPR Discussion Papers from Centre for Economic Policy Research

Abstract: We study opinion dynamics in a social network consisting of two groups. Agents update their opinions by conforming to members of their own group while rejecting the views of the opposing group (affective polarization), and by listening to a media outlet that may provide biased information. We characterize the long-run opinions and identify when affective polarization and media bias lead to ideological polarization, persistent disagreement, or failures of learning. We also derive when information interventions or censorship improve { the accuracy of average opinions} and reduce disagreement, and when they backfire: better information helps only under specific media bias configurations and when directed to the agents we identify as most effective at propagating it through the network.

JEL-codes: C7 D7 D85 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023-10
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Working Paper: Affective Polarization, Media Outlets, and Opinion Dynamics (2026)
Working Paper: Affective Polarization, Media Outlets, and Opinion Dynamics (2026)
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