Data Voids and Echo Chambers: The Transformative Journey of Search and Its Consequences

Francesca Tripodi investigates the interplay between user-driven content generation and the manipulation of search in her vision session at the 2024 NASIG Conference. Tripodi shares the outcomes of research into the interconnected nature of data platforms and how the absence of information on Wikipedia may result in information vacuums known as “data voids” which have been manipulated for corporate or political purposes. Tripodi also discusses her research into how our worldviews impact the selection of keywords, which in turn determine the items retrieved in search results, and efforts to boost users’ understanding of how search mechanisms work so that they are better prepared to navigate our information-rich society.