New large-scale behavioral data reveals surprising patterns in American online media consumption. This research analyzes internet usage across 2015 and 2016, quantifying individuals' exposure to politically slanted content through machine classification of news articles.

Key findings demonstrate that the vast majority (about three-quarters) of Americans maintain relatively moderate online media diets - approximately a quarter consuming mainstream news websites in both years. 📊 Using advanced computational methods, we identify partisan leanings and measure dietary consistency across groups.

📊 Political Diet Similarity

Our analysis finds high overlap between Democrat and Republican media consumption patterns overall:

• 65% distributional similarity in 2015
• ~50% overlap observed in 2016

🔍 Exception Groups

However, a distinct pattern emerges among dedicated partisans:

💡 Despite comprising few individuals, they generate disproportionate traffic to ideologically slanted sites.

💡 These groups possess high visibility despite their minority status online.

The study concludes that while online echo chambers exist for some, the vast majority of Americans engage with diverse media sources. This nuanced understanding significantly revises previous assumptions about partisan media consumption and highlights the need to distinguish between extreme partisans versus moderate publics when analyzing political information ecosystems.