How Algorithms Affect Conspiracy Theories

We all use them. Every day, we’re on our phones, laptops or computers. It’s unavoidable at this point. With the use of technology comes the use of, whether intentional or not, algorithms. More than likely, if you didn’t search for this blog on your own, you were led here because of other things you’re interested in.

We’ve all fell victim to the algorithm at some point. We click on a video on YouTube and immediately fall down a rabbit hole. This is harmless, right? Wrong. Conspiracy theories thrive because of algorithms and autocomplete features. This is how I found myself entranced with conspiracies.

As embarrassing as it is to admit, I was a Shane Dawson fan once upon a time. Scandal after scandal, it became hard to watch content and support a creator who has willingly done such bad things. It started out watching his storytime videos, but the YouTube algorithm had different plans for me. When one video stopped, it immediately recommended another video, the majority of the time it was one of his conspiracy theory videos.

Even though there are harmless conspiracy theories, there are also ones that cause harm on a larger scale than ever intended. Dawson definitely walked that line, while there were harmless conspiracy videos, such as talking about various movie conspiracies, there were also those about the Illuminati. If someone is susceptible to conspiratorial thinking and they stumble across that video, that may change their worldview completely.

I pride myself on being someone who is able to tell the truth from fiction, and I won’t fall victim to conspiracy theories. What about those people who easily believe things at face value? Or worse, what about children who innocently click on a video and take it as the truth?

There are times when falling victim to an algorithm is harmless. For example, if you’re online shopping and the website recommends a better product, the algorithm is in your favor.

While there are plenty of conspiracy theories about technology itself, and why it was created, this blog wanted to explore how technology has the power to affect how conspiracies are spread. Plenty of studies have been done and can show how technology helps the spread of conspiracies, but I want to pose the following question: what if it is completely unintentional? What if these algorithms are nothing more than harmless code created to recommend content for the everyday watcher? What do you think? Let me know in the comments.