På senare år har filterbubblor blivit ett välkänt begrepp som syftar på de bubblor av innehåll som användare slängs in i på sociala medier. I dessa bubblor finns en oro för att inlägg är ensidiga och kan stänga in oss i bland annat politiska åsikter. Filterbubblor anses därför av många bidra till en ökad polarisering, inte bara på grund av de inlägg som faktiskt visas för oss, utan även de inlägg som algoritmen väljer att inte visa på vårt nyhetsflöde. Trots att medvetenheten kring filterbubblor ökat, finns inte många studier på hur vägen mot en filterbubbla ser ut. För det första förser vi i denna rapport genom ett kvantitativt experiment, användare av sociala plattformar med en tydligare bild av hur filterbubblans livscykel ser ut, det vill säga hur lång tid det tar att hamna i en filterbubbla, och hur användare kan ta sig ur den. För det andra testar vi de teorier och de metodologiska svårigheterna i tidigare forskning kring hur användare potentiellt kan ta sig ur, eller byta filterbubbla. Vårt resultat visar att det går snabbt att komma in i en filterbubbla, medans att ta sig ur filterbubblan eller byta filterbubbla visa sig vara svårare än vad vi trodde och därför kräver mer tid. Eftersom det inte finns tidigare forskning på hur en filterbubbla ser ut eller när man kan räkna det som en filterbubbla så har vi  utifrån vårt egna experiments resultat, skapat ett mått för just detta. / In recent years, filter bubbles have become a well-known concept that refers to the bubbles of content that users throw in on social media. In these bubbles there is a concern that posting is one-sided and can shut us down in, among other things, political opinions. Filter bubbles are therefore considered by many to contribute to increased polarization, not only because of the posts that are actually displayed to us, but also the posts that the algorithm chooses not to display on our news feed. Although awareness of filter bubbles has increased, there are not many studies on what the path to a filter bubble looks like. Firstly, in a quantitative experiment, we provide users of social platforms with a clearer picture of what the filter bubble's life cycle looks like, i.e. how long it takes to end up in a filter bubble, and how users can get out of it. Secondly, we test the theories and methodological difficulties in previous research on how users can potentially get out, or change the filter bubble. Our results show that it is easy to get into a filter bubble, but getting out of the filter bubble or changing the filter bubble turns out to be more difficult than we thought and requires more time. Since there is no previous research on what a filter bubble looks like or when you can count it as a filter bubble we have based on the results of our own experiment created a measure for just this.

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In this paper I investigate the limitations of memory, physical and psychological effects on individuals’ perception that effect memory, and the impact of those limitations on our ability to recall objective truth. The paper is introduced with an explanation of my interest in the subjective narrative voice in historical accounts and questions the possibility of a completely objective voice. In the first chapter, a fantastical biographical story of the life of Tycho Brahe is used as an example of the difficulty in parsing truth from legend. Descriptions of changes in scientific methods exemplify the uncertainty of scientific fact. I propose that Brahe sought empirical data to replace the unfiltered memory perception an anosmic lacks. Additionally, if Brahe had a sense of smell his murder may have been unsuccessful. In the second chapter I describe anosmia, then explain the dominant theories of how olfaction takes place, and memory storage through smell. Memory recall through associated odors is unfiltered by the intellect, and unalterable, while other forms of memory are subject to change as our psyche continually reforms the experience. An objective account of events is impossible. I search instead for histories where myth, legend, truth, and imagination converge.

Il est difficile de définir le groupe des citoyens souverains car il a été très peu étudié. Selon les sources, il s’agit d’un groupe terroriste, d’un groupe sectaire ou d’un mouvement radical. La Gendarmerie royale du Canada, les tribunaux et certains services fédéraux et provinciaux prennent des mesures pour contrer l’impact des actions criminelles qu’ils commettent. Pour sa part, le Service canadien du renseignement de sécurité (SCRS) n’identifie pas ce groupe comme une entité terroriste. L’objectif de ce mémoire n’est pas de définir le groupe des citoyens souverains, mais plutôt de comprendre le processus d’adhésion à ce groupe au Québec. À l’aide de la théorie de l’action situationnelle, il démontre les étapes de la création d’un filtre moral chez les adhérents au mouvement. Par induction analytique à partir de témoignages de membres du groupe, il présente les conditions nécessaires à l’adhésion aux citoyens souverains. Parmi celles-ci, on retrouve la victimisation et l’exposition sélective aux théories du complot. Ce mémoire est la première étude qui sonde le point de vue des adhérents pour permettre de comprendre comment ils en viennent à commettre des gestes illégaux qu’eux considèrent légitimes. / Groups of sovereign citizens are hard to define since they are the subject of very few studies. According to sources, they are terrorist groups or sectarian groups or they are part of a radical movement. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, courts and some federal and provincial departments and agencies are taking measures to offset the impact of criminal actions they commit. As for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), it does not consider these groups as terrorist entities. The purpose of this thesis is not to define these groups per se, but rather to understand the enrolment process for Quebec sovereign citizens. Through situational action theory, it shows the various steps involved in the creation of a moral filter by this movement’s members. By analytic induction based on testimonies of group members, it shows the prerequisites for enrolling in the sovereign citizen movement – such as victimization and selective exposure to conspiracy theories. This thesis is the first study to poll the views of these members in order to understand how they get to commit illegal acts that they consider to be totally legitimate.

In many instances, television news is the primary outlet through which people gain knowledge on climate change. Both the perceived threat of climate change and American news media have grown politically divided since the 1980s. I make the argument that American news media influences the partisan divide over climate change. In addition to the political landscape of news media, focus on political events and figures in climate coverage further contributes to a partisan divide. Supporting these claims are research displaying how climate change news is processed in a partisan manner and a selection of three case study periods in which climate change coverage spiked among MSNBC, CNN, and Fox News in the last twenty years (2000-2019). I collected news footage from all three case studies using the online database archive.org. Using this footage, an accompanying documentary short was produced that focused on the Paris Climate Accord Withdrawal in 2017. Presented in the documentary and the three case study periods, Fox News held a consistently hands-off and dismissive tone towards climate change, while MSNBC and CNN implemented climate science into coverage while advocating for collective climate action. I report that media is selected and processed via partisanship among viewers; these case studies illustrate the ways in which news media drives the political divide on climate change. I conclude by offering some future ways climate coverage can be more unifying, such as more emphasis on the economic benefits of “a green economy” in news coverage.

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Research has revealed that more Americans than ever are turning to the World Wide Web as their primary source for news and information instead of legacy media outlets such as printed newspapers and magazines and broadcast news. As more and more people rely on the Internet as a primary source for news, it is important to analyze the characteristics and content of online news to expose and correct problems associated with the practices that inform its production and presentation. There are several longstanding practices in the American journalistic tradition that have been adapted to the online news environment. The practices of market segmentation and gatekeeping are two such practices. To date, few studies have explored how internet news coverage differs when the same story is altered to address the perceived interests of specific target audiences. This goal of this study was to collect and examine the characteristics of news stories presented on the homepages of three news websites—the Huffington Post, Huffington Post Black Voices and News One—to arrive at conclusions about the similarities and differences in how news content is reported to a general audience and to an African-American audience. This exploratory study used both Web sphere analysis and qualitative analysis to examine the collected homepage news stories. It used the results of the analyses to explore the possible effects continued market segmentation and selective exposure online could have on discourse in the public sphere. The study found that the legacy media practice of market segmentation was evident when online news reporting on targeted and untargeted news website homepages was compared. The study also revealed that the traditional role of the Black Press in legacy media has been resurrected in new media and is evident on news websites produced by African-Americans, for an African-American audience. Additionally, a qualitative examination of online news coverage of President Barack Obama’s 2012 State of the Union address and the death of Trayvon Martin revealed that the targeted audience influences the editorial slant through which news websites report stories.