Many discussions about democracy focus on misinformation. But another challenge may be equally important: distorted perceptions of social reality.

Social media often functions like a funhouse mirror, amplifying the most extreme voices who dominate online discourse. As a result, people come to falsely believe those voices represent society and public opinion far more than they actually do.

People often describe social media as a town hall or a technology that fosters democratic participation. But our data suggests the opposite pattern in terms of how people actually use it. For instance, authoritarian tendencies are about 3X as likely to predict whether people share their political opinion on social media (compared to pro-democratic values).

Jay Van Bavel presented this research today at a special panel on threats to democracy at the APS Annual conference in Barcelona. These perception distortions are crucial for understanding democratic discourse in the age of AI and social media.

You can read our paper on the funhouse mirror here: sciencedirect.com/scien…