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In a series of tweets, Elon Musk offered rare insights into the platform’s algorithm — if someone engages with specific content, the system assumes the person wants to see more of that type of content.
The revelation sparked widespread discussion about how user interactions are interpreted — and potentially misinterpreted — by the algorithm, raising important questions about the future of content curation on social media.
According to Musk, one of the most powerful signals the algorithm considers is the act of forwarding posts. “The X algorithm assumes that if you interact with content, you want to see more of that content,” Musk stated. “One of the strongest signals is if you forward X posts to friends, it assumes you like that content a lot because it takes effort to forward.”
However, Musk did not shy away from acknowledging a significant flaw in this approach. He admitted that the algorithm cannot distinguish between content users share because they genuinely enjoy it and content they forward out of outrage or disagreement.
“Unfortunately, if the actual reason you forwarded the content to friends was because you were outraged by it, we are currently not smart enough to realise that,” he conceded.
This revelation has sparked concerns among X users. If the algorithms do not understand the context of why a user has visited the post, they may inadvertently amplify divisive or inaccurate information.
Social media platforms are also being scrutinized for violating child privacy laws. Recently, the United States Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a lawsuit against TikTok for violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).
In June 2024, reports came out that Instagram’s algorithm was found to be recommending explicit content to kids.
In April, Meta platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger, were found to be hosting AI-generated NSFW app ads.
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