“Generally, getting people out to vote could swing a national election,” said Katherine Haenschen, a PhD student at the University of Texas, Austin and author of the upcoming Journal of Communications study.

Facebook is eager to show that its political involvement is limited to seemingly neutral activities such as encouraging voting. The company this week released some of the guidelines that govern its all-important News Feed - the place most people see postings on Facebook - and has pushed back hard against recent allegations of political bias in its "Trending Topics" module.

At the same time Facebook has embraced its role as a “new town hall” for politics, hosting events and helping candidates more effectively leverage their platforms, said Katie Harbath, Facebook's global politics and government outreach director

Her team helps candidates by answering their questions and providing advice, such as how to use Facebook Live and how to increase engagement on their pages.

ECHO CHAMBER