Radicalization stories overstate the causal role of recommendation algorithms
Evidence
You may remember Bucky Wolfe from chapter 3, who thought his own brother was a shapeshifting lizard. Like Caleb, analyses of his YouTube history also revealed a concerning trajectory; although he started out with fitness and music videos, he quickly discovered ‘alt-lite’ content before moving on to die-hard conspiracy theories, white nationalism, and finally, QAnon videos. Yet, although nobody doubts or discounts the importance of these experiences, you can’t help but wonder if they are the exception rather than the rule. After all, lots of frustrated people go online but do not become extreme or radicalized. As my sceptical colleague Joe Uscinski likes to put it: ‘People often say, “Oh, my God, this thing just happened to my cousin.” Well, no, it didn’t just happen. Your cousin was always a wackadoo. I’m sorry.’ — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof, 387
Categorization
- XREF: connects to: Social media amplifies rather than causes pre-existing biases in susceptible users; Geographic neighbors fall outside the instrumental filters of algorithmic recommendation.; Automated recommendation feeds can expose teenagers to thousands of radicalizing videos — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects…, 381 (+6 more)