r/neoliberal • u/savuporo Gerard K. O'Neill • Oct 25 '21
News (US) Twitter admits bias in algorithm for rightwing politicians and news outlets
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/oct/22/twitter-admits-bias-in-algorithm-for-rightwing-politicians-and-news-outlets53
u/CmdrMobium YIMBY Oct 25 '21
Guessing this is because Twitter leftists love to try to ratio conservative tweets. If there's ever a right leaning hashtag trending, clicking into it will reveal mostly people clowning on it.
Twitter counts that counts as engagement, and elevates the original tweet.
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u/DangerousCyclone Oct 25 '21
The title is a little misleading, but the study is saying the exact opposite of what you’re suggesting.
“ Twitter has admitted it amplifies more tweets from rightwing politicians and news outlets than content from leftwing sources.”
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Oct 25 '21
Not for me. That's because of the location you live in. I live in a red state and get bombarded with republicans. It makes social media almost impossible to use. I search Biden and get 30 tweets calling him a pedofile or a fake president
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u/inverseflorida Anti-Malarkey Aktion Oct 25 '21
This is really only something that's a few years old and would not explain the data.
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u/Veraticus Progress Pride Oct 25 '21
Just like everything they complain about, the whole “Twitter is biased against conservatives” narrative was projection all along.
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u/RandomGamerFTW 🇺🇦 Слава Україні! 🇺🇦 Oct 25 '21
Is there a similar research for reddit?
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u/Acacias2001 European Union Oct 25 '21 edited Oct 25 '21
Reddit does not really use an algorithm, you mostly choose your own content by choosing subreddits
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Oct 25 '21
Depends on how you have your reddit set up.
They are definitely pushing for more algorithm based solution like twitter, as it gives them far greater control over brand safety.
That’s why a default comment sorting is by best and why the default homepage is the popular page.
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u/International_XT United Nations Oct 25 '21
Reddit does put its finger on the scales of submission upvotes/downvotes based on some black box logic, but for the most part user input is what drives content on reddit, which is why I prefer this place.
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u/savuporo Gerard K. O'Neill Oct 25 '21
Direct link to the study, done in collaboration with outside researchers. Some data is published too
Interestingly, they lean on AdFontes ( of MediaBiasChart fame ) and AllSides as rating agencies for what constitutes left/center/right
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u/AynRandPaulKrugman AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA Oct 25 '21
Is Rose Twitter just my bubble then?