Lesson 3. The Role of Algorithms and Social Media

Today, the main source of news and information is social media, especially for young people. This means that both the news publishers and the consumers are dependent on algorithms that completely determine the type of content that will be disseminated to consumers. Regarding news publishers, this means they have to adapt their titles, photographs, and entire articles to the engagements, clicks, and shares on the social media they are posting to.

Social media algorithms are sets of calculations and rules used by the platforms to prioritize the content users see in their feeds. Put simply, the more time you spend looking at a post (image, video, text, etc.) more similar content you will see on your feed. If you engage in any way with this content (read comments, like, comment, share, and save) the amount of similar content that shows in your feed will increase further. This is not limited to one social media. If you, for example, engage with a certain type of content on Facebook it is most likely that similar content will show up in all other social media feeds you have. Certain platforms will use the information you provide in your profile to provide you with ‘suitable’ news content based on your nationality, race, age, the place where you live, education, place of work, etc. Every single social media platform constantly monitors the activity of their users to determine what type of content will be the most interesting for them. All with one goal – to make them spend as much time as possible on social media platforms. So, what does this goal mean for the dissemination and promotion of news content?

The use of algorithms may sound appealing to some as it would help sort through content easier. However, algorithms can also be used to limit or completely exclude opinions and information if it is evaluated that such content is not engaging for targeted users. They are also used to determine the order and time content is shown to users. This means that usually, informing oneself only through social media will cause the person to have a significantly biased and limited opinion. Algorithms are fed on confirmation bias and they create filter bubbles, amplifying users’ behavioral patterns and limiting critical thinking.

Examples from practice

The U.S. elections are usually the most followed elections in the world. They are so popular that studies have been made on how citizens of other countries would vote if they were an American citizen. Consequently, the influence of algorithms on politics is usually researched through these elections and American citizens.

For example, studies show that more than half of Facebook users researched are shown like-minded political content, and only 14.7% of users report regularly seeing cross-cutting content (for example, liberals seeing conservative content, or vice versa). Furthermore, research shows that Twitter (now known as X) significantly reduced votes that Donald Trump received in 2016 and 2020 due to “liberal” tweets that swayed voters with moderate views to not vote for Donald Trump. This shows how social media can have a severe impact on election results. If we factor algorithms into this and consider how they significantly limit the content users can see, we cannot wonder whether social media should be more heavily controlled when it comes to news reporting.

Furthermore, algorithms increase the consumption of fake news. Since algorithms are based on targeting the audience with content they have spent most of their time on, this can cause a warped sense of reality and information. In a practical example, this was seen during the Covid-19 pandemic with a severe influence of fake news on vaccines and rise in the anti-vax movement.

Most of the information that was used as “valid arguments” to back up attitudes against vaccines came from social media and YouTube rather than peer-reviewed articles. Reading a couple of these articles is enough for algorithms on every single platform to start “spamming” the same content in order to grab its user’s attention and make them spend as much time as possible online.

Diversifying news consumption

In order to avoid any of the negative effects of one-sided news that are mostly brought on by algorithms, as explained above, there are a couple of steps that should be taken. First of all, it is important to note that diversifying news consumption is not solely important for getting accurate information, having multiple sources of news, the easier checking of accuracy, but it is also very important for one’s mental health. When constantly surrounded by one type of news (especially if it is negative), this can have a severe impact on mental health.

Research shows that news consumption, especially sensationalized news stories can lead to an increased chance of anxiety, depression, and suicidal tendencies. This is why it is important to note that you can do a couple of things to diversity your news consumption:

• Assess your current news and social media habits.

See if you are only receiving your information and reading news articles that show up on your feeds. Write down the topics that show up the most commonly and see whether there is a pattern that would indicate this is due to algorithms.

• Consider what kind of news are out there.

Talk to your family and friends about their media consumption habits. See if they have any different habits that might help diversify your own. You can also do your own research and read from media that does not show up on your feed too often or at all. 

• Diversify your resources.

There is nothing wrong with getting your information from social media. But, getting your information solely from social media is not right. Try to diversify your information sources, especially if you manage to find sources that are accurate and do not tend to write sensationalized news stories made for clicks and shares.

• Check for credibility.

Usually, multiple news will write about the same topic or event. If you find yourself having interest in a certain topic or event, try to read about this from multiple sources, especially the more credible ones. Remember, if you keep opening articles that have the same point of view on the issue, only these articles will be shown to you. Sometimes you have to look for the opposing view yourself if you want to get an accurate picture and adequately   form your opinion on the matter.

• Make sure it is useful to you.

Try to focus on the news that interest you, from reputable sources. Sensationalized news stories usually show up on social media feeds because they attract the most clicks and shares even if its readers are not interested in the topic itself. So, stay within your lane of interests and keep in mind whether the goal of the story is to inform the readers or to make them click and share further.

There are some questions you could ask yourself (and others) to check whether you and they are diversifying their news consumption:

• Am I using a wide range of different sources?
  
  
• Is the news I’m reading interesting to me?
  
  
• Am I aware that even though sensationalized stories are interesting, exciting, or infuriating, they can also be false?
  
  
• Is the news I am reading well-researched, credible, and using legitimate resources in their articles?
  
  
• Am I using different apps and publishers to get my news?

And, sometimes, you just need a break.