![TIME.com stock photos TIME.com stock photos Social Apps iPhone Facebook](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/iphone-social-apps-facebook-2.jpg?quality=85&w=2400)
The long-held notion that Facebook’s algorithm leads to the creation of “echo chambers” among users isn’t exactly true, according to a report published Thursday in the journal Science.
After studying the accounts of 10 million users, data scientists at Facebook found that liberals and conservatives are regularly exposed to at least some “crosscutting” political news, meaning stories that don’t conform to their pre-existing biases.
The algorithm for Facebook’s News Feed leads conservatives to see 5% less liberal content than their friends share and liberals to see 8% less conservative content. But the biggest impact on what users see comes from what they clicked on in the past. Liberals are about 6% less likely to click on crosscutting content, according to the research, and conservatives are about 17% less likely. Facebook’s algorithm serves users stories based in part on the content they have clicked in the past.
Ultimately, the study suggest it’s not Facebook’s algorithm that’s making your profile politically one-sided, it’s your own decisions to click on or ignore certain stories. However, some observers argue the Facebook study is flawed because of sampling problems and interpretation issues.
This Is What Your Facebook Profile Looked Like Over the Last 11 Years
![The Original Facebook Group Page, 2004.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/facebook-original-profile-2004.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Facebook Profile Page, 2005.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/facebook-profile-2005-original.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Facebook Profile Page Facelift, 2005.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/facebook-profile-2005-update.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Facebook Profile Page, 2006.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/facebook-profile-2006.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Facebook Profile Page, 2007.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/facebook-profile-2007.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Facebook Profile Page, 2008.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/facebook-profile-2008.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Facebook Profile Page, 2009.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/facebook-profile-2009.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Facebook Profile Page, 2010.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/facebook-profile-2010.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Facebook Profile Page, 2011.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/facebook-profile-2011.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Facebook Profile Page, 2012.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/facebook-profile-2012.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Facebook Profile Page, 2013-2014.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/facebook-profile-2013.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Facebook Profile Page, 2014-2015. Facebook updated both the newsfeed algorithm and the privacy settings.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/facebook-alex-fitzpatrick-profile3.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Eyewitness Accounts From the Trump Rally Shooting
- Politicians Condemn Trump Rally Shooting: ‘No Place for Political Violence in Our Democracy’
- From 2022: How the Threat of Political Violence Is Transforming America
- ‘We’re Living in a Nightmare:’ Inside the Health Crisis of a Texas Bitcoin Town
- Remembering Shannen Doherty , the Quintessential Gen X Girl
- How Often Do You Really Need to Wash Your Sheets?
- Welcome to the Noah Lyles Olympics
- Get Our Paris Olympics Newsletter in Your Inbox
Contact us at letters@time.com