MIT Sloan study finds strong evidence of political bias in formation of social media ties
Democrats and Republicans equally favor interactions with co-partisans online
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CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Feb. 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- After the recent presidential election, political divisiveness is a more significant issue than ever in the U.S. But how much does political party affiliation actually impact social relationships? A recent experiment conducted on Twitter by MIT Sloan School of Management Prof. David Rand and MIT Sloan Research Affiliate Mohsen Mosleh, who is also a professor at the University of Exeter Business School, shows that politics matter a lot when strangers are forming new social ties. They found that Democrats and Republicans are equally likely to favor people who share their party affiliation when deciding who to follow.