X Algorithm Amplifies Posts Misaligned With User Values, Study Finds

A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that X’s “For You” algorithm routinely amplifies content that clashes with users’ self-stated values.

According to the report, researchers from MIT, the University of Michigan, Johns Hopkins, Stanford, and Yale studied 715 active U.S. X users in September and October 2024. Participants installed a browser extension that collected their “For You” and Following feeds.

X reportedly showed Democrats more content that ran counter to their stated values, while the effect was much weaker for Republicans. The correlation was -0.229 for Democrats and -0.041 for Republicans, with more negative numbers indicating greater misalignment. Across all users, amplified content scored -0.150, while posts from accounts they chose to follow generally aligned with their values.

“Social media feed algorithms rank content that is purported to be preferred by users, but the engagement behaviors that drive these algorithms are (at best) indirect proxies for users’ explicitly self-stated values,” the researchers wrote.

When X published recommendation algorithm code on GitHub, the technical documentation demonstrated that engagement actions like replies carry heavy weighting factors relative to passive timeline views. The platform’s scoring models assign values based on predicted probabilities of user interaction, causing conflict-driven replies to signal interest.

A replication study produced a similar partisan split, recorded at -0.199 for Democrats and 0.0372 for Republicans. Researchers noted that users replying to opposing viewpoints inadvertently prompt the algorithm to deliver higher volumes of misaligned material.

X owner Elon Musk previously addressed algorithmic mechanics following code updates to the platform. “We know the algorithm is dumb and needs massive improvements, but at least you can see us struggle to make it better in real-time and with transparency,” Musk tweeted.