Social media fueled divisions. Teaming up may help heal.
Science & Tech Social media fueled divisions. Teaming up may help heal. Ph.D. candidate Lucas Woodley, the paper’s lead author (left), with Professor of Psychology Joshua D. Greene.Photo by Dylan Goodman Christy DeSmith Harvard Staff Writer June 3, 2025 6 min read Study finds pairing members of opposing parties on the same side to compete in specially designed quiz eases partisanship Algorithm-driven digital feeds have deepened the split between red and blue America. But a new online tool may help bring the country back together. The virtual quiz game Tango, developed at Harvard, pairs Democrats and Republicans on common teams, where bipartisanship quickly emerges as a competitive advantage. “It’s really the opposite of the nasty, divisive posting you find on social media,” offered Tango co-creator Joshua D. Greene ’97, a professor of psychology and co-author of new study measuring the game’s impact. The results, published this week in the journal Nature Human Behaviour, showed decreased negative partisanship, increased warmth, and...