As if you needed more confirmation that Twitter (X) is terrible.
The right wing playbook never changed, only the medium. Musk is the modern day H. L. Hunt with the reach that Hunt could only dream of. It’s a global authoritarian propaganda machine and it’s scary how effective it is.
“One of the most concerning findings of the study is the longer-term effects of X’s algorithmic feed. The study showed the algorithm nudged users towards following more right-leaning accounts, and that the new following patterns endured even after switching back to the chronological feed.”
It’s amazing that it can also pinned to a exact moment. July 13th.
Our findings unearthed a sudden and unusual spike in engagement with Musk’s account after his endorsement of Trump on July 13 – the day of the assassination attempt on Trump. Views on Musk’s posts surged by 138%, retweets by 238%, and likes by 186%. This far outstripped increases on other accounts. After July 13, right-leaning accounts on X gained significantly greater visibility than progressive ones. The “playing field” for attention and engagement on the platform was tilted thereafter towards right-leaning accounts – a trend that continued for the remainder of the time period we analysed in that study.
I really thought (or at least made myself believe) that Twitter would fail after Musk bought, but I was wrong. With a user base of a large country and an algorithm that can turn polical beliefs on a whim, it’s a terrifying beast.