2 ms·

I won't accidentally end up on some outrage tabloid news site if I start at AP News and start clicking articles. There is nothing wrong with outrage tabloid ne

by cwhiz 6y ago

I won't accidentally end up on some outrage tabloid news site if I start at AP News and start clicking articles. There is nothing wrong with outrage tabloid news existing, but it shouldn't be something that I accidentally happen upon while browsing normal news. YouTube will just send you to extremist crap if you keep watching suggested videos long enough.

theptip 6y ago
Fair. Is this qualitatively or just quantitatively different from discovery in previous generations; flicking through the channels you see Fox when you normally choose MSNBC. Or flicking through the newspapers on the rack you see USA Today on your way to picking up NYTimes. I think part of it at least is that you simply get recommended way more things now than then; the shocking recommendations are the only ones we remember. I do also agree that there is some sort of feedback loop going on here that wasn’t happening as strongly before, and I have a vague hunch that bots / astroturfers may be amplifying these feedback loops in ways that didn’t apply to previous generations.