The Lacuna Project

lacuna (n.) a gap in a record where something should be

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Exhibit 722

Algorithmic amplification of politics on Twitter

Exhibit 722 ยท Peer-reviewed study

Algorithmic amplification of politics on Twitter

In six out of seven countries studied, the mainstream political right enjoys higher algorithmic amplification than the mainstream political left.

Audit using a holdout group of about 2 million accounts on a reverse-chronological feed. Right amplified more than left in six of seven countries (Germany not significant); right-leaning US news amplified marginally more; no evidence extreme groups were amplified more than moderate ones. Authors call the causal mechanism a topic for further study.

Source
Huszar, Ktena, O'Brien, Belli, Schlaikjer, Hardt (PNAS; Twitter authors)
Date
21 December 2021
Quoted from
Abstract (PMC8740571)
Grade
Peer-reviewed
Document
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2025334119
Accessed
2026-11-09
Cited by
Findings citing this exhibit

Cited by

Finding POL-3.6
Peer-reviewed Twitter's own audit found that the mainstream political right was amplified more than the mainstream left in six of seven countries and found no evidence that algorithms amplify extreme groups more than moderate ones. An analysis of 208 million U.S. Facebook users found that ideological segregation rises from potential exposure to engagement, and that most misinformation identified by Meta's fact-checking program sat in a homogeneously conservative corner with no liberal equivalent.