As much as I would love to imagine some powerful people intentionally influencing search results on a big scale, Google and Facebook and Twitter have no real wa

As much as I would love to imagine some powerful people intentionally influencing search results on a big scale, Google and Facebook and Twitter have no real way to make money from it. I would argue that it would only drive people away. I am sure that it happens to a certain degree, look at the marketing of Bernie Sanders on reddit, but a much bigger influence is your social circle and your source of new information. Social media mirrors people's attitude. If you see new tweets about an issue you don't particularly care for, there's a good chance that people you follow do care. It's basic psychology that you befriend people who share your views and interests. If all of your friends tweet or like or show interest in something then twitter will assume you do too. Twitter makes money from user engagement and so it's logical to show you things that your friends agree with because chances are you will too. I think a real issue is the lack of a source of unbiased information. Relevant information and information you agree with are very different things.