Social Media: How Influencers and Algorithms Manipulate You ?

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This is a testimony fascinating on the leading role played by social networks and influencers in public debate. In the book, Invisible Rulers, which is echoed in the magazine Nature, Renée DiResta, former research director at the Stanford Internet Observatory (SIO) in California, reflects on her own experience in combating online disinformation.

She develops a main thesis: propagandists present on major platforms have acquired significant power in shaping public opinion. According to her, they are often the main vectors of false information. According to the author, they thus adopt the maxim: “If you make it a trend, you make it a truth”.

Concretely, these charismatic political influencers have thus acquired a considerable audience online, and they would in reality be the ones who set the tone for public debate. Renée DiResta claims that they have the capacity to impose a narrative comparable to the great marketing gurus and the audience of a TV presenter. Their impact is all the greater because Internet users feel like they are talking on the phone with a friend and therefore trust them completely.

The example of vaccination

The academic gives many examples in her book. But the one about vaccination is quite enlightening. In 2014, she began by worrying about a decrease in the rate of vaccination of children against measles in California.

While discussing the subject on social networks, she faced numerous attacks from bots and trolls. She also discovered a small group of people who believe that the government and the pharmaceutical industry are working together to cover up the supposed link between vaccines and autism (a causality largely denied by scientific research). She notes that these propagandists are well organized and structured online to reach the general public.

Initially marginal, the ideas of these influencers end up infusing the population to such an extent that anti-vaccination sentiment could one day become the majority on social networks.

When Mr. Everyman Becomes an Influencer

In her book, the researcher looks back at the journey of some ordinary citizens. They start by addressing topics that are close to their hearts online. This is not necessarily false information or rumors.

But some then notice that by mentioning controversial topics, they manage to interest a growing number of Internet users. A loop then sets in, because the algorithms notice their popularity and propel them even more. This is how an average user can have a considerable strike force overnight.

Giving a voice to the inaudible

To complete, it is also important to point out that social networks have given the opportunity to certain minorities who were until now invisible in traditional media to speak out and make their problems known. They have also helped to make certain powerful societal movements flourish, such as “Me too”.

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