Algorithms Are Killing Democracy

[littlemissmartypants]

Algorithms Are Killing Democracy
Dusty Schmidt
Nov 21, 2024
7 min

To beat back the billionaire-fueled fascist tide, we must first have a shared reality.

Today's Bad Faith Times newsletter was written by Dusty Schmidt, a valued member of the BFT Discord. If you are interested in contributing to BFT, email a pitch to [e-mail]

Democracy, despite what many of us are conditioned to believe, is not the natural state of civilization. It's a system of government that takes constant work to maintain because it revolves around keeping the powerful in check, an exercise that can be challenging when coupled with an economic system that rewards power with more power.

For pro-democracy forces to stand a chance, we must at the very least be fighting for the same thing, and coming from a common place.

Creating a more democracy-friendly media, cultural, and political environment requires breaking free of the algorithmic madness that has trapped us all. Fortunately, there are tools at our disposal that can tip the scales back to favoring the people, and not the powerful. That includes the nascent social media network Bluesky, which has grown exponentially since Elon Musk helped Donald Trump sneak back into power by turning X into a far-right propaganda machine. Bluesky and its rejection the typical algorithmic horror show embraced by Musk and Mark Zuckerberg could be crucial in giving working people the collective power necessary for preserving our representative system of democracy and keeping the rising tide of fascism at bay.

This power comes from unity, a shared understanding of how to solve problems that will come our way, and most importantly, a shared reality.
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❤️pants

[RockRaven]

1. People who choose to use social media with algorithmic feeds are killing democracy.

It is no secret which social medias use that style of feed, and which do not. People are once again active but seemingly mindless participants in their own abjection.

[eppur_se_muova]

2. Thank you ! I was about to post something similar.

I'm one of those people who has never had an account on Facebook/Meta, Twitter/X, or anything 'social' other than DU and Smirking Chimp (long neglected). I've just never understood the appeal of any of them.