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Platform architecture and discourse fragmentation
The defining effect of social media on political discourse is the fragmentation of the public sphere into algorithmically curated enclaves. Platform architecture privileges engagement, which in turn privileges emotionally intense and polarising content. As Sunstein (2017) argues, this produces echo chambers in which exposure to opposing views diminishes and group polarisation intensifies. This analysis extends Sunstein by noting that the effect is not merely a by-product but a structural consequence of engagement-optimised design, implying that discourse quality cannot be improved without altering the underlying incentive architecture of the platforms themselves.