Algorithmic radicalization
Algorithmic radicalization is the concept that
Algorithmic radicalization remains a controversial phenomenon as it is often not in the best interest of social media companies to remove echo chamber channels.[5][6] Though social media companies have admitted to algorithmic radicalization's existence, it remains unclear how each will manage this growing threat.
Social media echo chambers and filter bubbles
Social media platforms learn the interests and likes of the user to modify their experiences in their feed to keep them engaged and scrolling. An echo chamber is formed when users come across beliefs that magnify or reinforce their thoughts and form a group of like-minded users in a closed system.[7] The issue with echo chambers is that it spreads information without any opposing beliefs and can possibly lead to confirmation bias. According to a group polarization theory, an echo chamber can potentially lead users and groups towards more extreme radicalized positions.[8] According to the National Library of Medicine, "Users online tend to prefer information adhering to their worldviews, ignore dissenting information, and form polarized groups around shared narratives. Furthermore, when polarization is high, misinformation quickly proliferates."[9]
By site
Facebook's algorithms
Facebook's algorithm focuses on recommending content that makes the user want to interact. They rank content by prioritizing popular posts by friends, viral content, and sometimes divisive content. Each feed is personalized to the user's specific interests which can sometimes lead users towards an echo chamber of troublesome content.
Facebook's allegations
In an August 2019 internal memo leaked in 2021, Facebook has admitted that "the mechanics of our platforms are not neutral",[13][14] concluding that in order to reach maximum profits, optimization for engagement is necessary. In order to increase engagement, algorithms have found that hate, misinformation, and politics are instrumental for app activity.[15] As referenced in the memo, "The more incendiary the material, the more it keeps users engaged, the more it is boosted by the algorithm."[13] According to a 2018 study, "false rumors spread faster and wider than true information... They found falsehoods are 70% more likely to be retweeted on Twitter than the truth, and reach their first 1,500 people six times faster. This effect is more pronounced with political news than other categories."[16]
YouTube
YouTube's algorithm
YouTube has been around since 2005 and has more than 2.5 billion monthly users. YouTube discovery content systems focus on the user's personal activity (watched, favorites, likes) to direct them to recommended content. YouTube's algorithm is accountable for roughly 70% of users' recommended videos and what drives people to watch certain content.[17] According to a new study, users have little power to keep unsolicited videos out of their suggested recommended content. This includes videos about hate speech, livestreams, etc.[17]
YouTube's allegations
YouTube has been identified as an influential platform for spreading radicalized content. Al-Qaeda and similar extremist groups have been linked to using YouTube for recruitment videos and engaging with international media outlets. In a research study published by the American Behavioral Scientist Journal, they researched "whether it is possible to identify a set of attributes that may help explain part of the YouTube algorithm's decision-making process".[18] The results of the study showed that YouTube's algorithm recommendations for extremism content factor into the presence of radical keywords in a video's title. In February 2023, in the case of Gonzalez v. Google, the question at hand is whether or not Google, the parent company of YouTube, is protected from lawsuits claiming that the site's algorithms aided terrorists in recommending ISIS videos to users. Section 230 is known to generally protect online platforms from civil liability for the content posted by its users.[19]
TikTok
TikTok algorithms
TikTok is an app that recommends videos to a user's 'For You Page' (FYP), making every users' page different. With the nature of the algorithm behind the app, TikTok's FYP has been linked to showing more explicit and radical videos over time based on users' previous interactions on the app.[20] Since TikTok's inception, the app has been scrutinized for misinformation and hate speech as those forms of media usually generate more interactions to the algorithm.[21]
As of 2022, TikTok's head of US Security has put out a statement that "81,518,334 videos were removed globally between April - June for violating our Community Guidelines or Terms of Service" to cut back on hate speech, harassment, and misinformation.[22]
Alt-right pipeline
The
Many political movements have been associated with the pipeline concept. The intellectual dark web,[24] libertarianism,[27] the men's rights movement,[28] and the alt-lite movement[24] have all been identified as possibly introducing audiences to alt-right ideas. Audiences that seek out and are willing to accept extreme content in this fashion typically consist of young men, commonly those that experience significant loneliness and seek belonging or meaning.[29] In an attempt to find community and belonging, message boards that are often proliferated with hard right social commentary, such as 4chan and 8chan, have been well documented in their importance in the radicalization process.[30]
The alt-right pipeline may be a contributing factor to domestic terrorism.[31][32] Many social media platforms have acknowledged this path of radicalization and have taken measures to prevent it, including the removal of extremist figures and rules against hate speech and misinformation.[25][29] Left-wing movements, such as BreadTube, also oppose the alt-right pipeline and "seek to create a 'leftist pipeline' as a counterforce to the alt-right pipeline."[33]
The effects of YouTube's algorithmic bias in radicalizing users has been replicated by one study,[24][34][35][36] although two other studies found little or no evidence of a radicalization process.[25][37][38]Self-radicalization
The U.S. department of Justice defines 'Lone-wolf' (self) terrorism as "someone who acts alone in a terrorist attack without the help or encouragement of a government or a terrorist organization".[39] Through social media outlets on the internet, 'Lone-wolf' terrorism has been on the rise, being linked to algorithmic radicalization.[40] Through echo-chambers on the internet, viewpoints typically seen as radical were accepted and quickly adopted by other extremists.[41] These viewpoints are encouraged by forums, group chats, and social media to reinforce their beliefs.[42]
References in media
The Social Dilemma
The Social Dilemma is a 2020 docudrama about how algorithms behind social media enables addiction, while possessing abilities to manipulate people's views, emotions, and behavior to spread conspiracy theories and disinformation. The film repeatedly uses buzz words such as 'echo chambers' and 'fake news' to prove psychological manipulation on social media, therefore leading to political manipulation. In the film, Ben falls deeper into a social media addiction as the algorithm found that his social media page has a 62.3% chance of long-term engagement. This leads into more videos on the recommended feed for Ben and he eventually becomes more immersed into propaganda and conspiracy theories, becoming more polarized with each video.
Proposed solutions
Weakening Section 230 protections
In the
Lawmakers have drafted legislation that would weaken or remove Section 230 protections over algorithmic content.
See also
- Algorithmic curation
- Ambient awareness
- Complex contagion
- Dead Internet theory
- Disinformation attack
- Doomscrolling
- Echo chamber
- Extremism
- False consensus effect
- Filter bubble
- Influence-for-hire
- Online youth radicalization
- Radical trust
- Selective exposure theory
- Social bot
- Social data revolution
- Social influence bias
- Social media bias
- Vicarious trauma after viewing media
- Virtual collective consciousness
References
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- ^ "The Websites Sustaining Britain's Far-Right Influencers". bellingcat. February 24, 2021. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
- ^ Camargo, Chico Q. (January 21, 2020). "YouTube's algorithms might radicalise people – but the real problem is we've no idea how they work". The Conversation. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
- ^ E&T editorial staff (May 27, 2020). "Facebook did not act on own evidence of algorithm-driven extremism". eandt.theiet.org. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
- ^ "How Can Social Media Firms Tackle Hate Speech?". Knowledge at Wharton. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
- ^ "Internet Association - We Are The Voice Of The Internet Economy. | Internet Association". December 17, 2021. Archived from the original on December 17, 2021. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
- ^ "What is a Social Media Echo Chamber? | Stan Richards School of Advertising". advertising.utexas.edu. November 18, 2020. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
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- ^ Oremus, Will; Alcantara, Chris; Merrill, Jeremy; Galocha, Artur (October 26, 2021). "How Facebook shapes your feed". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
- ^ Atske, Sara (January 16, 2019). "Facebook Algorithms and Personal Data". Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
- ^ Korinek, Anton (December 8, 2021). "Why we need a new agency to regulate advanced artificial intelligence: Lessons on AI control from the Facebook Files". Brookings. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
- ^ a b "Disinformation, Radicalization, and Algorithmic Amplification: What Steps Can Congress Take?". Just Security. February 7, 2022. Retrieved November 2, 2022.
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- ^ Little, Olivia (March 26, 2021). "TikTok is prompting users to follow far-right extremist accounts". Media Matters for America. Retrieved November 2, 2022.
- ^ "Study: False news spreads faster than the truth". MIT Sloan. Retrieved November 2, 2022.
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- ^ "TikTok's algorithm leads users from transphobic videos to far-right rabbit holes". Media Matters for America. October 5, 2021. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
- ^ Little, Olivia (April 2, 2021). "Seemingly harmless conspiracy theory accounts on TikTok are pushing far-right propaganda and TikTok is prompting users to follow them". Media Matters for America. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
- ^ "Our continued fight against hate and harassment". Newsroom | TikTok. August 16, 2019. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
- ^ a b Lewis, Rebecca (September 18, 2018). Alternative Influence: Broadcasting the Reactionary Right on YouTube (Report). Data & Society. Archived from the original on May 25, 2022. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
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- ^ "Mozilla Investigation: YouTube Algorithm Recommends Videos that Violate the Platform's Very Own Policies". Mozilla Foundation. July 7, 2021. Archived from the original on March 25, 2023. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
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- ^ Hughes, Terwyn (January 26, 2021). "Canada's alt-right pipeline". The Pigeon. Archived from the original on March 25, 2023. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
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- ^ Lomas, Natasha (January 28, 2020). "Study of YouTube comments finds evidence of radicalization effect". TechCrunch. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
- ^ Newton, Casey (August 28, 2019). "YouTube may push users to more radical views over time, a new paper argues". The Verge. Archived from the original on July 27, 2023. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
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- Wolfe, Liz (April 26, 2022). "YouTube Algorithms Don't Turn Unsuspecting Masses Into Extremists, New Study Suggests / A new study casts doubt on the most prominent theories about extremism-by-algorithm". Reason. Archived from the original on April 26, 2022.
- ^ "Lone Wolf Terrorism in America | Office of Justice Programs". www.ojp.gov. Retrieved November 2, 2022.
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- ^ a b "47 U.S. Code § 230 - Protection for private blocking and screening of offensive material". LII / Legal Information Institute. Retrieved November 2, 2022.
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- Masnick, Mike (June 23, 2020). "Hello! You've Been Referred Here Because You're Wrong About Section 230 Of The Communications Decency Act". Retrieved April 11, 2024.
- ^ "H.R. 5596 (117th): Justice Against Malicious Algorithms Act of 2021". GovTrack. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
- ^ Robertson, Adi (October 14, 2021). "Lawmakers want to strip legal protections from the Facebook News Feed". The Verge. Archived from the original on October 14, 2021. Retrieved October 14, 2021.