  Online platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit, provide users with a
rich set of features for sharing and consuming political information,
expressing political opinions, and exchanging potentially contrary political
views. In such activities, two types of communication spaces naturally emerge:
those dominated by exchanges between politically homogeneous users and those
that allow and encourage cross-cutting exchanges in politically heterogeneous
groups. While research on political talk in online environments abounds, we
know surprisingly little about the potentially varying nature of discussions in
politically homogeneous spaces as compared to cross-cutting communication
spaces. To fill this gap, we use Reddit to explore the nature of political
discussions in homogeneous and cross-cutting communication spaces. In
particular, we develop an analytical template to study interaction and
linguistic patterns within and between politically homogeneous and
heterogeneous communication spaces. Our analyses reveal different behavioral
patterns in homogeneous and cross-cutting communications spaces. We discuss
theoretical and practical implications in the context of research on political
talk online.
