Algorithms and Polarization
Polarization for Profit
Leading scholars in this field have argued that digital platforms are using algorithms to promote polarization for profit. That is, corporations use these algorithms to engage and outrage, to knowingly cause divisiveness and polarization, ultimately for one simple purpose: to sell ads. In other words, these platforms have used “massive surveillance of our behavior, online and off, to generate increasingly accurate, automated predictions of what advertisements we are most susceptible to and what content will keep us clicking, tapping, and scrolling down a bottomless feed” (Tufekci).
For a fascinating explanation of this, watch the following TED Talk [22:47] from Zeynep Tufekci, techno-sociologist and Associate Professor at UNC School of Information and Library Science:
Note: Turn on closed captions with the subtitles button or use the interactive text transcript Links to an external site. if you prefer to read.