Study: X's Algorithm Pushes Users Toward Conservative Views

Researchers find X's 'For you' feed actively steers users rightward and suppresses traditional news outlets.

Study: X's Algorithm Pushes Users Toward Conservative Views

X's recommendation algorithm has a measurable conservative bias — and it's actually changing people's minds. That's the takeaway from a new experiment covered by Gizmodo.

Researchers found that switching users to X's algorithmic "For you" feed resulted in a noticeable shift toward more conservative political positions. The platform's algorithm actively favored conservative content over other viewpoints.

There's another wrinkle: the algorithm also appears to penalize posts from traditional news media organizations. That means legacy outlets are getting buried while politically slanted content gets amplified.

The findings raise fresh questions about how algorithmic curation on major social platforms shapes public opinion — not just reflecting what users want to see, but actively nudging their worldview in a specific political direction. For a platform that styles itself as the global town square, that's a significant problem.