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A comment on The “Majority Illusion” in Social Networks (2016). Parent comment

Re:The “Majority Illusion” in Social Networks (2016) by Majromax on Tuesday June 09, 2020 @09:06AM (#23466313)
> They are destroying innocent bystanders lives and livelihoods; the celebrities who are egging them on are doing so because their neighbourhoods, livelihoods and lives are not getting burned down (see https://www.rt.com[...])

With due respect, I fear this may be precisely an example of the "majority illusion" described in the article.

You're not seeing a representative sample of "their responses" or "celebrities" -- you're seeing a sample selected by the media specifically for the quality of being newsworthy. (Or entertaining, or engaging, or aligning with the outlet's political views)

If we're to learn anything from this PLOS article, it's that we should not be overly confident in our views about what "everyone else" is doing.

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Re:The “Majority Illusion” in Social Networks (2016) by lelanthran on Tuesday June 09, 2020 @09:41AM (#23466558)
> You're not seeing a representative sample of "their responses" or "celebrities" -- you're seeing a sample selected by the media specifically for the quality of being newsworthy. (Or entertaining, or engaging, or aligning with the outlet's political views)

You are quite correct, but that just means that the mob is getting positive reinforcement for their actions from a vocal minority.

After all, I am seeing what the mob is seeing, and it looks like overwhelming support for the disproportionate response.

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