This study is not without limitations, however. As they acknowledge, their
sample is only limited to active users who self-report their political afﬁliation on
their proﬁle. While this may lead to underestimating the extent to which users
are exposed to cross-cutting views, when it comes to the relative importance of
individual choices vs. the algorithm, the opposite may be true. In other words,
people who self-report their political views are more likely to be politically
interested and thus more likely to be more selective about the political content
they consume. Individuals with lower levels of political interest may rely to
a greater extent on Facebook’s algorithm to decide which political news they are
exposed to.
Social_Media_and_Democracy