The way news sites stack their headlines actually trains the algorithm

I noticed CNN and Fox run the same exact stories but order them completely differently. The top story on one gets way more shares because the algorithm sees it first and boosts it. Has anyone else seen this cause totally different viral paths for the same topic?

3 comments

3 Comments

mileslane15d ago

Nah, I have to disagree a bit on this one. I've seen the same story hit different numbers depending on which spot it gets on the homepage. The early placement matters a lot more than people think. It's not a conspiracy, but the order definitely changes what blows up and what doesn't.

mason_reed4716d agoMost Upvoted

Can't even figure out which sock goes on which foot most days, but sure, I'll spot the algorithm games. I just assume whatever pops up first is the one that got hit with the "we need this to trend" button.

barbara_jenkins6616d ago

Algorithms are just guessing based on a pile of data, not some grand conspiracy. Plenty of times I've scrolled past something that was supposedly trending and it was just a cat video with 12 views. Maybe the button is more like a suggestion box than a command center.