Investigating the Impact of Facebook Polarization on the 2021 Taiwanese Referendum
Taiwan has four important upcoming referendums on December 18, 2021. “Pork Imports”, “Referendum Dates”, “Nuclear Plant”, “Algae Reef Protection.” According to previous research, disinformation and manipulation of the media could influence public opinion on topics like these referendums. This study will examine how Facebook has affected the polarization of public opinion on these topics over the previous eleven months. The phenomenon of public opinion polarization and the factors affecting policy support and political attitudes will be analyzed using artificial intelligence technology. The polarization impact of pages that demonstrated evidence of potential media manipulation through coordinated behavior were considered. Within these pages, those that were shared most often are referred to as “amplifiers.”
