Did X's algorithm reward Elon Musk and the Republicans?

A recent study, picked up by The Verge, has uncovered details of a hypothetical change in X's (formerly Twitter's) algorithm that took place in July 2024. The algorithm, modified under the management of Elon Musk, would have begun to favour content published by right-wing political accounts and figures, with a disproportionate growth in the visibility of these posts compared to those of a progressive orientation.

This is the finding of a new study published by Queensland University of Technology (QUT), 'A computational analysis of potential algorithmic bias on the X platform during the 2024 US election', which suggests that X may have altered its algorithm to boost Musk's own account, along with those of other conservative profiles, from the time he announced his support for Donald Trump's presidential campaign.

The authors of the study - Timothy Graham, associate professor of digital media at QUT, and Mark Andrejevic, professor of communication and media studies at Monash University - examined Musk's posts between 1 January and 25 October 2024 and identified a marked increase in the posts published by the entrepreneur and Trump supporter, for all engagement metrics (views, reposts and likes). In particular, views jumped 138% and retweets 238% higher. This was from around 13 July, after Musk's official endorsement of Trump.

The second phase of the study, based on the analysis of a dataset of 56,184 posts (relatively small, as the researchers specify, due to the limitations imposed by X on access via the Academic API), compared accounts affiliated with Republicans and Democrats, showing an increase in visibility for the former, especially in the number of views. This suggests an algorithmic preference for Republican-leaning accounts, which showed a significant increase over Dem-leaning accounts, raising doubts about the impartiality of the platform and its role in shaping American public opinion.

The results suggest a possible bias in recommendations, which favoured Republican content in terms of visibility, potentially through mechanisms such as the 'For You' feed, which recommends new accounts to follow. In contrast, retweet and favourite counts indicated a more balanced distribution of engagement across political camps, the result of a general shift in engagement, rather than targeted amplification. Results, say the researchers, that may also have been influenced by the significant boost Elon Musk received in his engagement metrics.