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Technology played a key role in politics long before the creation of social media.

The relationship between technology and politics, which started as a way for politicians to broadcast their messages to a national audience, has since devolved into a complicated relationship filled with bias thanks to modern social media.

Almost 75% of American citizens use social media regularly. While this may seem like it would help candidates spread their campaigns to voters nationwide, it also inevitably leads to politicians attempting to control or influence these platforms to spread their agendas and censor their opponents.

The most obvious example of this was during President Donald Trump’s first term. He signed an executive order in May 2020 aiming to reduce the legal protections given to platforms including Twitter, now known as X, and Facebook.

Other instances of algorithmic control are less apparent to the average person, yet they still exist in prevalence.

Artificial Intelligence is everywhere in today’s digital world. As a result, algorithms have grown more efficient and optimized so they’re able to adapt to each consumer more easily.

Though this should be a selling point for new-and-improved, ethical algorithms, these “improved” algorithms often lead to the spread of misinformation, especially in politics, due to the lack of guidelines in place for these AI systems.

Alex Levy | Design Editor

This was specifically apparent during the 2016 presidential election. Leading up to Trump’s inauguration, members of Russia’s military intelligence developed a network of fake accounts on prominent platforms to interfere with American voters’ social media algorithms.

It’s even more concerning when these algorithms are controlled by figures with political influence who inject bias into their algorithms in an attempt to sway public opinion.

On March 28, Elon Musk’s AI startup platform xAI purchased X, the popular social media forum. Musk will restructure X in this acquisition, making the xAI engine a major component in the platform’s algorithm.

This purchase will be one that benefits all, according to Musk, as xAI is set to help deliver meaningful experiences to billions of people by making information more accessible, while still preserving the truth.

Looking at Musk’s track record since he first bought X and since joining Trump’s administration as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency, it’s reasonable to assume he’ll use a xAI-fueled algorithm to spread propaganda supporting Trump’s policies on X.

Since he first acquired X in 2022, Musk has made many changes to the platform that demonstrate his overwhelming amount of support for the Trump administration’s goals. These alterations included unbanning accounts previously reported for sharing racist content, essentially turning the platform into a breeding ground for hatred.

Now that he has complete control over the algorithm of the app itself, X users can expect the space to not only allow hate speech, but unabashedly push exclusive far-right propaganda onto their users — at an even worse rate.

Algorithms are unavoidable in today’s digital world. When the people behind them prioritize impartiality, they can be a positive tool.

But due to the volatile nature of modern politics, people are willing to use any means necessary to perpetuate their point. This means there will likely never be another relevant social media platform that implements an unbiased algorithm.

As media consumers, the best thing we can do is remain conscious of who truly controls what we see each time we scroll. We owe it to ourselves as United States citizens and young people to recognize bias online so we can make truly informed decisions when we choose a candidate to support.

Will Chadwick is a freshman psychology major. His column appears weekly. He can be reached at wchadwic@syr.edu.

Published on April 8, 2025 at 10:09 pm