Abstract

There is growing concern that social media platforms are contributing to political polarization by forming echo chambers environments that shield users from opposing viewpoints on current events. Extremist political viewpoint groups are accused of spreading misinformation, anti-scientific claims, and conspiracy theories. This research is intended to investigate the relationship between Facebook usage, misinformation acceptance, overconfidence in news judgments, and political polarization in society. Specifically, this paper examines whether increased use of social media can increase political polarization. We analyze data from the ANES Social Media Study 2020. The findings are discussed in relation to the existing literature as well as their theoretical and practical implications.