README.md
This documentation is to be a user’s manual for your project. Though the structure of your documentation is entirely up to you, it should be incredibly clear to the staff how and where, if applicable, to compile, configure, and use your project. Your documentation should be at least several paragraphs in length. It should not be necessary for us to contact you with questions regarding your project after its submission. Hold our hand with this documentation; be sure to answer in your documentation any questions that you think we might have while testing your work.
WHAT IS BUBBLEPOP? A Google Chrome extension that displays the underlying implicit bias of a given article. In the extension, users rate the bias of a given article as well as their own political position. Thereafter, in a scatter plot graph, users are able to see what are the bias ratings of other users and their respective political views.
WHY IS IT USEFUL? By displaying the perceived bias of a certain website according to the political spectrum of the users, this extension can help assess the level of polarization of a certain website. For instance, if the scatter plot graph shows that most users (positioned on both ends of the political spectrum) rated the article as unbiased, this is a strong signal that the article is indeed unbiased and a good source of information. On the other hand, if the scatter plot graph shows that most people that identify as leftist rate the article as biased, whereas most people on the right rate it as unbiased, this might be a signal that the article could be biased towards the right end of the political spectrum and, therefore, not a good source of information.
GOAL Ultimately, this extension aims to help users escape epistemic bubbles. Epistemic bubbles are the phenomena in which a person unwillingly ends up missing relevant sides of a conversation due to only being exposed to one side (Nguyen, C. (2020). ECHO CHAMBERS AND EPISTEMIC BUBBLES. Episteme, 17(2), 141-161. doi:10.1017/epi.2018.32). Since online content operates through self-reinforcing algorithms (you only see what you might like), people are increasingly entering epistemic bubbles without even realizing it and becoming vulnerable to polarization. Bubble pop aims to help people escape epistemic bubbles by making them realize that they might be in one. For example, if the articles you read mostly have ratings on the polarized side of the graph, it is an indicator that you might be consuming content that has an implicit bias and that you should reassess your content diet and try to diversify it more. On the other hand, if the articles you read mostly have ratings on the UNpolarized side of the graph rat ed by users on both ends of the political spectrum, it is an indicator that you have a healthy content diet (keep it up!).
TO TEST THIS EXTENSION: Download the BubblePop directory on your computer. On Google Chrome, go to extensions at chrome://extensions/ Activate developer mode and click on “Load unpacked” on the left corner Upload the BubblePop file Activate the extension Go to manage extensions Email us the “ID” number of the extension. This is so that we can authorize you in Firebase to use the extension Now you can try it out :)
HOW IT WORKS: After activating and opening the extension, you can login using your Google account. The extension will then allow you to rate the bias of the article and your political position on two different sliders. Lastly, there is a field where you can input the URL of the article’s website. After including these inputs, you can submit the form and view the data imputed by all users displayed in a graph. You can then choose to submit a rating for a different article or sign out.
Link to YT video: https://youtu.be/Xf_yB59vWz0