La red social X move your users to political positions more conservative. Since the technology magnate Elon Musk It was gained control that this statement is not a surprise. However, a new study confirms that the algorithm of the platform formerly known as Twitter tends to that radicalization.
The research, published this Wednesday in the scientific journal Natureshows that users who get information through the feed X’s algorithm—the “For You” mode that recommends on-screen content based on both personalized and Musk’s interests—tend to veer toward the right. Especially on controversial political issues such as the criminal accusations against Donald Trump o to guerra in Ukraine.
On the other hand, when the feed is chronological—that is, without being mediated by algorithms— no ideological variation is appreciated. At least in the 5,000 users in the United States that the authors experimented with for the study. “Initial exposure to X’s algorithm has persistent effects on users’ current political attitudes,” they say.
The white letter X can be seen on a black background, while the previous logo of the short message service Twitter is displayed in the background. Photo: Monika Skolimowska/dpa / Monika Skolimowska/dpa – Archivo
“Those who at the beginning of the experiment defined themselves as progressive (‘liberal’, according to the terminology of the study) suffered a relatively limited effect of displacement towards conservative positions; on the other hand, those who at the beginning claimed to align themselves with conservative or independent positions, evolved towards even more conservative positions,” says Ramón Salaverría, professor of Journalism at the University of Navarra and coordinator of Iberifier (Iberian Digital Media Observatory), in statements collected by Science Media Center Spain.
Extremist drift
In this way, the document confirms an open reality: the social networks lock users in echo chambersbubbles in which they surround themselves only with that information that confirms their initial statements. “Something that stands out is that the study finds a constant because the algorithm ‘silences’ the traditional media, so that the void is filled by more radical voices. If in a specific country the most active and polarizing voices are conservative, the algorithm will enhance them,” says Celia Díaz Catalán, researcher at the TRANSOC Institute of the Faculty of Political Sciences and Sociology of the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM).
After purchasing Twitter and remaking it in his image, Musk has done everything possible to promote voices of the radical right. Over the past few years, the world’s richest man has reinstated the accounts of previously blocked users—since white supremacists y neo-Nazis to various conspiracy theorists—implemented a monetization model that financially rewards the users who generate the most impact, a perverse incentive that, according to several studies, has led to the proliferation of disinformation like him hate content.
United States President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk. / Europa Press/Contacto/Molly Riley/White House
The study has a limitation: that it focuses on users of USA in a very particular context. “Therefore, the direction of ideological effects cannot be generalized to all countries or platforms,” Walter Quattrociocchi, professor of Computer Science and director of the Laboratory of Data Sciences and Complexity at the Sapienza University of Rome, explains to SMC. “In other information ecosystems, optimizing participation could plausibly amplify different political orientations based on local media supply and user networks.”
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