Study: X's Algorithm Loves Making Democrats Furious
A new peer reviewed study in PNAS confirms what your group chat already suspected: X's algorithm is a rage machine, and it's aimed disproportionately at Democrats. Researchers tracked 715 real X users' feeds and values, finding the platform rewards angry replies over actual alignment with what people say they care about, feeding them more infuriating content regardless of who they follow. The exact reason for the partisan skew is unclear, but the mechanism is blunt: fighting in the replies equals engagement, and engagement wins every time.
Turns out the algorithm isn't broken, it's just built to make you miserable and click more.