Rishi Shankar and Shefali Dhar

Recent years have witnessed a dramatic rise in polarization across political, identity, security, and economic lines. In our capstone project, we examined the role of media in fostering polarization in the United States through history, starting with the emergence of “yellow journalism” in the 1890s. We found that today, affective polarization is rising due to a resurgence of yellow journalism, which is fueled by online and social media and has produced an increase in polarization. Unchecked bias can lead to the creation of a tribalist society characterized by lack of tolerance and hostility between groups.

The substantial evidence pointing to the rise of polarization and its harmful effects on society prompted us to explore how this phenomenon is manifested on the individual level.

Brief: How can we reduce polarization in society?

Strategic Design Intervention: With the overarching strategic goal of moving groups from a state of polarization to empathy, we devised an approach comprising three prongs.

First, we would build Abridge, a cutting-edge AI-powered news platform designed to identify bias in the news, guide users in reflecting on this information and gaining insight into their own biases, and ultimately build conversational bridges between users. Second, we would create the Abridge Foundation, a nonprofit overseeing the Abridge App and other profit-generating entities. The foundation would also house a bias-mapping project aimed at collecting data to fuel the app's algorithms. Finally, we would address gaps in media regulation policy through an advocacy plan created by the Abridge Foundation with the aim of introducing policies ensuring balanced reporting from all perspectives.

To view the presentation deck, visit bit.ly/breaking-echoes.