Chronological feeds won’t fix platform polarization, new Meta-backed research suggests

Meta partnered with independent academics to research its political effects on users.

Facebook and Instagram users see different political news in their feeds depending on their political beliefs.
Chronological tapes do not solve the problem of polarization, the researchers say.
The vast majority of political news rated by Meta was viewed by conservative users.
Algorithmic channels have reduced user time on platforms and lowered engagement with individual posts.
Timeline feeds increased political and "unreliable" content, but did not affect user participation in political life.
Removing republished posts from users' feeds has reduced the number of political and unreliable news sources.
The algorithms of Facebook and Instagram play a role in increasing the polarization, but social media is not the main cause of controversy.
The duration of some studies may have been too short to change user behavior.