X (formerly Twitter) has always been a preferred platform for political content and debate. As the American elections on November 5 approach, our colleagues from Wall Street Journal have engaged in a fascinating experiment in order to better understand the behavior of the social network’s algorithms and whether they lean more towards Kamala Harris or Donald Trump.
The methodology used
Concretely, they created 14 new accounts spread across the entire American territory, but especially in the key states where the vote should be played. Their robots were programmed to be active for a week by scrolling the “For You” section of X several times a day.
Each publication, image, or meme observed was then analyzed using Google’s Gemini language model. Important fact: the accounts were configured on diverse tastes ranging from science to running to cooking, but they did not indicate an appetite for political subjects.
The results of the study
In fact, our colleagues note that the majority of publications offered to users are of a political nature and linked to elections. Kamala Harris’ campaign topped the most viewed accounts, with a post mocking Donald Trump supporters.
But it’s the tree that hides the forest, because 10 of the 14 other most posted accounts are in favor of the Republican candidate, specifies the Wall Street Journal. Likewise, pro-Trump content appears twice as frequently as pro-Harris posts.
Even more disturbing, an insulting message from a certain catturd2 is broadcast almost systematically for each of the new accounts: “If this Kamala Harris, this idiot, this mulehead, is able to cheat enough to win the presidency, the United States is finished”.
Elon Musk’s promise
Consulted by the American media, a spokesperson for X refused to answer questions. In the past, Elon Musk has said: “The platform is neutral, but I will express all my opinions”. He added last August: “The algorithm is open source and simply tries to show people what they are most likely to find interesting”.
Please note that the social network’s algorithm often highlights its own publications which revolve a lot around politics and its strong support for Donald Trump in the race for the White House. To find out more about the strategy deployed by the entrepreneur to elect the Republican candidate, you can also reread our article here.
