Beyond the Algorithm

Growing up in the age of social media, I used to believe everything social media showed me, regardless of credibility. In a world where social platforms dictate our opinions and what we believe to be fact or fiction, many mistakenly become victims of thinking and preaching misinformation. Social media has become one of the most significant and dangerous cycles of lies. This makes people tend to form opinions purely based on their algorithms, without even considering what they see could be false, biased, or not wholly fact. My own experiences as a teenager, believing everything I saw on TikTok, Instagram, X (Twitter), and many other platforms, have taught me the importance of genuinely indulging and researching what we are shown, not just one side but multiple opinions and viewpoints, engaging in conversations with an open mind trying to understand other sides of a story, trying to find the truth and others should do the same.

Anyone with internet access often uses social media as what they believe to be a reliable news source. In 2021, a study conducted by the Pew Research Center found that 67% of adults in America use social media as a news source. They interviewed 11,178 American adults, asking, "How often do you get your news from social media?". The outcome of this study was that 19% often got their news from social media, 29% sometimes did, 19% rarely did, and only 24% reported they never used social media, and 9% reported they did not get digital news at all. This creates an issue. If all these people get information from social media without researching the topics, how should they differentiate fact from fiction? Many people then share what they have seen without fact-checking, creating a widespread assumption based on lies. The algorithm will then push this to others with parallel beliefs, spreading misinformation and creating discourse. An example of this is politics. One can see or hear an opinion or belief on social media, take it as fact, and then preach it to those with similar mindsets. TikTok is a prime example of this. Someone can post a political take, and if one person engages with a video, it will be pushed to people who have engaged with videos with similar content. This video could have zero information to back it up and could be outlandish, but people will believe it, and it becomes the "truth."

Using social media as a news outlet is very dangerous because it affects the minds of the generation that will soon be the future. In 2018, three students at MIT, including Peter Dizikes of the MIT news office, conducted a study. This study found that news spreads up to six times faster on social media than on reputable news sources. However, much of the news on social media will likely be based on biases or incorrect statements and data. This leads to users not verifying these claims before sharing. Our generation is the next generation of voters. Suppose people rely on the information spread on platforms such as TikTok, X (Twitter), Instagram, or any other social platforms; when it comes time for the younger generations to vote, they could be voting for a candidate with almost entirely different policies or beliefs than the voter was made to believe. The same study found that false news is often sensationalized to align with the users' beliefs. This frequently initiates emotional reactions, making it more likely to be shared. One person becoming emotional will spark an idea that could be based entirely on misinformation, creating a new wave of political activism built on opinions, not facts. Additionally, immaturity plays a significant role in emotional reactions, leading to the spread of skewed narratives. Posts on social platforms are almost entirely based on quick responses, and many users, particularly but not exclusive to younger generations, lack the maturity to take a moment to fact-check and analyze more complexly before sharing. Many politicians will utilize the widespread belief of information that evokes emotional reactions to emotionally manipulate and push people towards the assumption that they are the "better" candidate. While emotions are fundamental, allowing them to cloud our minds because we are upset from a specific take, making decisions based on facts rather than impulse and emotions is essential. Continuous reliance on social media as a trustworthy news source is incredibly dangerous. People will continue to believe misinformation. Soon, most of how people view our political and social systems will be based on false information and emotional manipulations, leading these systems to become corrupt.

A lack of willingness to learn others' opinions has led to a drought of open-minded conversations and the emergence of bashing someone purely for an opinion. In January of 2025, a post was made by TikTok user isabel.newell that garnered over 11 million views and 2.5 million likes and climbing, claiming she had "Never seen a pretty Trump supporter". While this is not the only post making this or a similar claim, it was among the most popular. Thousands of people began to agree with her position. This created a counter-opinion among thousands who claimed they were a pretty Trump supporter. As a response, an argument emerged from those who agreed with the author's original claim. Both sides of the argument began to be attacked for having an opposing stance to the other party. While people started to attack each other for having separate views, people also began to use information that had been spread through social media to invalidate the other sides' arguments. This post is a great example of how people will tear each other apart simply for having separate views and thinking that the other side's opinions are wrong. Not trying to understand different points of view and ideas has created disunity among younger and older generations at an all-time high. While it is not a new concept to be argumentative with those who disagree with your viewpoint, it has become more of an issue. Instead of trying to understand one another, people begin to attack and belittle one another simply for having an alternative belief. Close-mindedness makes it more likely to only discuss ideas and beliefs within a closed community out of fear of violence, verbal harassment, and widespread harsh criticism from the media. This allows exaggerations and false news to spread like viruses because no one can tell them otherwise.

If social media is shaping our perception of news, the solution is not to stop using it entirely but to start using it more responsibly. Rather than mindlessly accepting everything we see, use it as an opportunity to learn more. We must research what we see, seek multiple perspectives, and question what we are told. According to the News Literacy Project, fact-checking and asking what we are given is essential. To achieve this effectively, the News Literacy Project provides many strategies to identify misinformation accurately. One approach they offer is to check the source. Is the information provided to you backed up by a reputable news source, or is there no information backing it up? Additionally, check for explicit biases if the information is from a reputable news source. When the information is clearly from a far-leaning source to one side or another, check other sources from the other side of the spectrum and from somewhere more neutral. Given they are all saying different things, something has most likely been misconstrued due to personal views or distorted facts. However, if they are all saying almost the same thing, then it is more than likely that the information is accurate. Another method they offer us is to be skeptical of viral claims. If a claim spreads rapidly, it is probable to become warped. It could start as a fact, but the more it spreads, the more likely it is to change because people do not fully understand the claim. So question viral opinions or "facts" and check from reputable sources such as the Associated Press (AP), BBC News, The Wall Street Journal, or Reuters. Finding more neutral sources of information can be imperative so the facts are not affected by bias.

The truth is that propaganda and disinformation have continued to spread, not because it is hard to differentiate fact from opinion but because too many people continue to believe everything they are given without question. People need to take the time to research and fact-check to find the whole story. Misinformation in the media makes politics harder and harder to understand, leading to false information, disunity, and argument-derived conversations rather than open-minded conversations. If we truly want change, we must stop relying on social media, encourage complex understanding of topics, research multiple sides, and participate in discussions without getting defensive. Knowledge is power and is the most important weapon you carry, so take control, aim for the facts, and look past 'the truth' you are given.