Social Network Algorithms Are Distorting Reality By Boosting Conspiracy Theories | Co.Exist | ideas + impact

The filter bubble... has evolved. Algorithms, network effects, and zero-cost publishing are enabling crackpot theories to go viral... impacting the decisions of policy makers and shaping public opinion, whether they are verified or not... Facebook's news feed ... tailored just to us ... to keep us interested and happy... drives engagement and more time spent on a site, and that keeps a user targetable with advertisements for longer.
1962 book, The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America... "We risk being the first people in history," he writes, "to have been able to make their illusions so vivid, so persuasive, so ‘realistic’ that they can live in them."
social networks are now used as primary news outlets.... We are long past merely partisan filter bubbles and well into the realm of siloed communities ... that experience their own reality and operate with their own facts....
It’s now easier than ever to produce content specifically designed to convince people who may be on the fence or "curious" about a particular topic... Self-publishing has eliminated all the checks and balances of reputable media―fact-checkers, editors, distribution partners...
We believe in the wisdom of crowds... the conviction that good content will get noticed... this is no longer as true as it once was... When nonsense stories gain traction, they’re extremely difficult to correct... the Internet doesn’t just reflect reality anymore; it shapes it....
social-web activity is notorious for an asymmetry of passion... most active social media voices are the conspiracist fringe... Californian Republican Representative Devin Nunes said that 90% of the communication he receives from constituents is conspiracy-theorist nonsense, up from approximately 10% when he took office in 2003..
.The Internet isn’t separate from the real world; building the web we want is building the future we want.