In the online world it doesn´t matter anymore (did it ever?) if what you say is true or false, even if you are not anonymous. This fact opens up a whole ecosystem of players with a variety of goals and strategies. But they all have in common, that their intention is to influence the public discourse and ultimately profit off of that.
Social media platforms are complicit in amplifying these people.
By switching from a chronological feed to an algorithmic suggested one, they profit off your time you spend on the app.
Over the years these platforms learned, that the best way to keep people engaged is outrage. So we have a reality, where a serviceprovider steals and sells your personal data, tracks you through the internet while making you angry so you stay online to get ads fed. But it´s free - that´s cool, though.
The players who participate in this ecosystem aren´t a homogenous group. There are botfarms, grifters and politicians (often in the same persona), trolls, terrorists and just plain dumb users all trying to generate as much outrage as possible. The algorithms honor this content and the more engagement happens, the more it is pushed in other user´s feeds.
Algorithmic exploitation does not exist only within the realm of terrorism. It is also used for disinformation during elections, sometimes resulting in violence and polarisation. Such examples underline how algorithms, by prioritising engagement over accuracy, facilitate the spread of disinformation, polarisation, and extremist narratives, making them pivotal tools in modern cyber and ideological warfare. Extremist strategies often align with how algorithms optimise engagement by pushing emotionally charged content. Creating ”filter bubbles”, algorithms expose users to ideologies matching their biases, reinforcing extremist beliefs.
-Dr. Soumya Awasthi
Conservatives and right wing people are thrieving on this new battlefield. They are pushing borders and twisted right wing rethoric into the mainstream. Take woke:
MONTANARO: But what does the word really mean, and where does it come from?
ELAINE RICHARDSON: It comes out of Black culture. In simple terms, it just means being politically conscious and aware, like stay woke."
There is no woke agenda. You just can´t say stupid and hateful shit anymore without beeing called out. But at the same time those people profit from beeing called out, because every click, like, repost and comment is engagement. This whole ecosystems of outrage is fed by your attention and everyone should touch more grass.