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Does Meta’s algorithm really have a hidden agenda? The Guardian conducted an experiment to see what kind of content would be pushed on a newly-set-up, blank iPhone with no created algorithm. The result? A surge of sexist and misogynistic content.
The fake profile had no identity input for the algorithm to work with. The only user information added to the fake profile was that it belonged to a 24-year-old male. Ad-tracking was disabled so that the algorithm wouldn’t pick up on activity and push related content. They didn’t even follow any accounts besides the five recommended accounts that were required to set up the account — these included the UK Prime Minister and other random accounts that did not give valuable information about the user.
It took the Facebook algorithm three days of pushing random content until it leaned into sexist jokes and images — all without any user input. Instagram, on the other hand, showed an explore page filled with “scantily-clad women.”
What did Meta say? The company simply parroted their previous statements about the algorithm, maintaining that the content a user sees is influenced by their activity, and eventually becomes personalized to them. We know, we’re giving major side-eye based on these findings too.
This isn’t the first time this experiment has been conducted. Other researchers who studied the algorithm’s bias have concluded that boys on social media at an impressionable age are lured into the Manosphere, recommended toxicity, and fed misogyny.
What does this say about men? Nothing but that the algorithm doesn’t think much of them. Dr Stephanie Wescott, a lecturer in Humanities and Social Sciences at Monash University said “It’s kind of degrading for men for the algorithm to make this assumption about their interests … [that] you’re going to like these sort of misogynistic memes.”
The solution? Transparency is top of the list. Nicholas Carah, an associate professor in Digital Media at the University of Queensland believes that “journalists, researchers, and regulators […] observe what these informational flows look like” so that we can have an honest discussion about them on the platforms that influence these views.
