Remember when Elon said he’d “open source the algorithm”? Then he released a selection of arbitrary source code files mostly consisting of enums that tell us basically nothing about ranking, cut off access to APIs that researchers could use to study the site, and suddenly Republicans and alt-right content started showing up in everyone’s timeline…
I have a suspicion, that the actual algorithm’s code’s comments are filled with slurs of all kind.
Is anybody besides right wing folks still using Twitter anymore?
Unfortunately there is still a lot of stuff posted on twitter only. It’s either there or hidden somewhere in the bowels of a discord channel that no one can search.
The internet is turning into the dark ages where getting information that isn’t manipulated is basically impossible. Didn’t feel so much like this 15 years ago.
+1
Also Reddit accelerating its decline, just to start… Basically all my preferred niches have turned into fragmented Discord black holes.
I know we’re on a fediverse lifeboat here, but there are a lot of empty seats.
I think discord is the worst platform. It has the illusion of being free, but it’s made by a for-profit business that has for-profit motives. The ads have only intensified since I started using it and like any product following the MBA line of thought, they need to gain critical mass before tightening down the screws of monetization.
I just despise the format and the intense engagement/attention optimization over just finding what you want. It buries information so you have to spend time in it.
The only social media sites of the Twitter variety that exist now are both right wing shitholes now…
Notice the distinct lack of Republican investigations into bias from them now… Hmmmmm. Integrity amirite?
Blue Sky is really nice right now.
Mastodon and Threads also exist. I don’t use them or Bluesky, and I’m not endorsing any of them, just pointing out that there’s several would be Twitter replacements out there.
I’m on a queer librarian Mastodon instance and it’s pretty chill.
I always forget that even exists, thanks for reminding me!
I mean it might have something to do with the fact that the average congressional democrat isn’t saying batshit insane things that get turned into an entire article by every blogger on the net.
That and the fact that fewer Democrats base their entire identity on worshipping a fucking politician of all people. Ugh.
Does it really matter if 90% of the “views” are just bots?
As long as the bots click on the ads?
Nope.
Well, nothing suspicious about that graph at all.
I love this timeline that starts at the exodus and goes through the enshittification.
Lite?
