Polarizing social media figures (IMAGE) Penn State Caption Social media influencers who create or share distorted political messages may cause political parties to moderate their policies to win over independent voters in general elections but tend to polarize the rest of society, according to researchers. Credit Illustration, Patrick Mansell / Penn State Usage Restrictions Credit must be given to the creator. Only noncommercial uses of the work are permitted. No derivatives or adaptations of the work are permitted. License CC BY-NC-ND Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.