You can’t block a frigate – A Scottish echo chamber

A situation where a person is exclusively exposed to those who hold the same beliefs and values as them is referred to as a “echo chamber.”

In the era of social media, when users can select to follow or communicate with only individuals who share their opinions, this tendency has become more widespread.

This can result in a skewed perception of reality and lead to people making false assumptions about specific subjects, such as the notion that no frigates are being constructed in Scotland.

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There are literally thousands of tweets about the new frigates, ranging from absurd claims that no ships are being built at all to more understandable but still false claims that only five ships have been ordered. The former, I assume is either wilful ignorance and the latter is clearly from folk that are unfamiliar with the fact that ships are ordered in batches.

Jonathan Chartier, a defence commentator, took a detailed look at this. He said that one key issue that has had significant influence over the often torrid debate when it comes to military ship building in Scotland is the reduction of the Type 26 procurement from thirteen to eight vessels, whilst ignoring the ordering of another five frigates of a different type.

“The often passionate arguments from those who support and oppose Scottish independence makes a balanced view of military ship building in Scotland and its future difficult, as it can often end up with people shouting their ‘preferred’ facts at each other over social media rather than examining the issues. Traditionally, the Royal Navy has purchased ship classes from multiple yards, in distinct batches.

This not only spreads programme costs, but also allows for changes and improvements to the base design and rectification work, as well as for keeping shipyards open with a constant steady stream of work. Certainly, for famous classes like the Type 12I Leander, this batch production was necessary just to keep up with the radical changes seen in electronics and systems over their extensive career.”

The belief that there are no frigates being built in Scotland is a prime example of the dangers of an echo chamber. This belief is often based on a misunderstanding of numerous reports on the frigates, more on this can be found here.

Here’s a perfect example of a headline people shared without reading. If they had read it, they’d see that it was a subsystem being built in France not the ship.

Well, the infamously badly headlined @Plymouth_Live article regarding the Type 31 Frigates has resulted in thousands of tweets about how 'Scotland has been betrayed!' and 'France are building British Frigates!'. Well done folks, well done. pic.twitter.com/N13dcRR6Ph

— UK Defence Journal (@UKDefJournal) February 11, 2020

This sharing without reading, sharing without caring, etc, leads to a false conclusion that the frigates themselves were not being built in Scotland, despite evidence to the contrary.

Echo chambers are created when people only consume information from sources that confirm their existing beliefs, and they actively block or ignore any information that contradicts those beliefs.

You’ll see this if you follow me on Twitter. My polite corrections to folk claiming that no ships are being built are often met with abuse and blocking.

In the above example, when I politely pointed out that in fact thirteen ships were ordered, can you guess what happened? I was blocked. This is a normal response and frankly, mind blowing.

An “echo chamber” is created when someone only associates with people who share their beliefs and values, which can reinforce one’s own viewpoints while potentially excluding others. Contrary to what might seem to be the case, echo chambers frequently result from inadvertent cognitive biases and social practices.

People have a tendency to seek out information and social ties that confirm their own beliefs and values, which is known as confirmation bias. Social pressure to adhere to group norms, which can make people hesitant to express alternative ideas, can further intensify the echo chamber effect. Hence, even while people might not purposefully create an echo chamber, it is nevertheless possible for them to do so as a result of their natural human instincts.

People may not appreciate having their political opinions challenged since they are frequently entwined with their sense of self. Those who identify with a certain political party or ideology could perceive an attack on that philosophy as an attack on them personally.

This can lead to defensiveness and a reluctance to engage with opposing viewpoints, which is likely why folk don’t like to be told that ships are being built in Scotland.