Quoting is not Citing: Disentangling Affiliation and Interaction on Twitter

Abstract

Interaction networks are generally much less homophilic than affiliation networks, accommodating for many more cross-cutting links. By statistically assigning a political valence to users from their follower ties, and by further contrasting interaction and affiliation on Twitter (quotes and retweets) within specific discursive events, namely quote trees, we describe a variety of cross-cutting patterns which significantly nuance the traditional “echo chamber” narrative.