Studie »The political effects of X’s feed algorithm«, 18.2.2026 (engl. Original)
In addition to promoting entertainment, X’s feed algorithm tends to push more conservative content to users’ feeds. Seven weeks of exposure to such content in 2023 shifted users’ political opinions in a more conservative direction, particularly with regard to policy priorities, perceptions of the criminal investigations into Trump and views on the war in Ukraine. The effect is asymmetric: switching the algorithm on influenced political views, but switching it off did not reverse users’ perspectives on policy priorities or current political issues.
Once users follow accounts promoted by the algorithm that they find engaging and persuasive— such as those of conservative political activists — they continue to see posts from these accounts after turning the algorithm off. Hence, users’ political attitudes may remain unchanged, as the content they engage with most persists despite observed shifts in overall political content.
This indicates that exposure to feed algorithms has a lasting impact on users’ feeds and their political attitudes.
We find that, relative to the chronological feed, X’s algorithm promotes conservative content to both Democrats and to Republicans and Independents, with suggestive evidence that persuasion is stronger for Republicans and Independents, who are more positively predisposed to conservative messages.
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