Recently a Alert launcher or an insider named Frances Haugen alleges that Facebook is not transparent in its use of its algorithmic software. According to Haugen, Facebook uses its algorithms only to attract as many enthusiasts as possible to its site and increase commercial income from advertising sources.
Maria Alessandra Golino from Universiteit Maastricht in the Netherlands said that algorithms on social media platforms are a technical way to sort downloads based on multiple criteria, so users will be presented with messages that give them want to follow such specific content.
The impact of this algorithm can be positive and negative. Often, algorithms are designed with the goal of increasing awareness or interest in a particular issue, and users suddenly see tons of posts about nutrition, food or foreign movies, or even politics.
The negative impact of the algorithm is that it is able to influence the opinions and interests of social media users as it passes machine learning or machine learning, they only process downloads that match Like or the tastes of the user, and reinforce the tendency of an opinion without being accompanied by balanced information.
Merlyna Lim is a professor at Carleton University and holder of the Canada Research Chair of the Digital Media and Global Network Society in Ottawa. He pointed out that the algorithm is just a learning and sequencing machine, and the algorithm learns from social media users themselves.
“It’s just that this algorithm reinforces the most extreme things, which is most like that – superlatives, their appearance is based on feeling, right, most loved, most loved, most wanted, if more and more people are using search engines (search engines), which lead to something in the direction, X for example, finally the engine considers that the most important thing “, he explained.
As a result, the thing with the loudest sound then appears and is amplified, and it is not necessarily a
majority opinion. For example, the most racist, the most chaotic, far-right or far-left opinion.
Irene Poetranto is Principal Investigator at the Citizen Lab at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, University of Toronto, Canada. AT FLY he recalled that Facebook is a social media forum full of algorithm filtering outputs and very popular in Indonesia.
“Facebook is popular in America, of course, but also in Indonesia. In fact, when it comes to the growth of Facebook users, yes, the growth is fastest in developing countries like Indonesia, isn’t it. If we look at North America people tend to think, ah Facebook is for my parents (For my parents) it’s true, it’s for the older generation, he said, but in Indonesia Facebook is popular and Facebook also has Instagram, “he said.
In the midst of this extreme opinion frenzy, moderate, middle, or perhaps more balanced voices representing majority opinion remain silent.
“There is a theory of the spiral of silence, so if for example every individual in the middle thinks that if I speak later, he will be fired.bully or me say you are tired or not it was no use, everyone felt intimidated talking, it finally happened spiral of silence,Kata Merlyna Lim.
This situation is dangerous because there are radical voices resounding all the time.
But Merlyna Lim saw a silver lining as well. The pandemic of the past two years has been a turning back moment.
“Silence actually arises, arises because of a sense of solidarity, because a sense of humanity arises, so the majority appears, because what is in the middle appears without an ideological basis, yes, it is really out of empathy to want to help others, even if in the countries that I see, India, Indonesia for example, Brazil, Italy, because the government is not strong, they appear as a network of volunteers and so on, it’s great, “he said.
However, Poetranto recalled that in the future, especially ahead of the 2024 general elections in Indonesia, extreme and radical content will appear intensively on social networks and will monopolize certain groups, such as minorities or women. [jm/ka]
“Internet evangelist. Extreme communicator. Subtly charming alcohol aficionado. Typical tv geek.”