Social media is making a bad political situation worse

America's polarization problem is bigger than we thought. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ [View on the web]( [Recode]( [Click to view images]( [Social media is making a bad political situation worse]( You've probably heard the term "filter bubble." It was coined a decade ago by a guy named Eli Pariser who, at the time, thought that algorithms were skewing the types of information we saw online, leading many people to see mostly things they agreed with. But as the results of the 2020 election get litigated on Facebook, it's clear that the problem with algorithmically generated news feeds is slightly scarier than that. We don't just see more of what we agree with; we also deeply hate what we disagree with. "There’s little doubt in my mind that the way our media ecosystem works is enflaming political sectarianism,” Eli Finkel, one of the authors of a recent Science magazine paper that looked at animosity between political parties, told Recode. "Social media is not focused on making the world a better place; it’s primarily focused on engagement, so it listens to us and gives us what we want." Recode's Rani Molla spoke with several researchers, including Pariser, about the state of the filter bubble in 2020 and how social media is making things worse. [Click to view images]( [Biden's agency review teams includes tech employees from companies like Amazon, Airbnb and Uber]( Most of the tech employees listed are serving as volunteers, which the transition website says means they are serving in a personal capacity. [ Lauren Feiner / [CNBC]( ] [Click to view images]( [Shocked by Trump's loss, QAnon struggles to keep the faith]( For years, followers of the pro-Trump conspiracy theory had been assured that the president would win re-election in a landslide. [ Kevin Roose / [New York Times]( ] [Click to view images]( [TikTok says the Trump administration has forgotten about trying to ban it, would like to know what's up]( The deadline to sell US assets expires this week [ Sam Byford / [The Verge]( ] [Click to view images]( [Apple says new Arm-based M1 chip offers the 'longest battery life ever in a Mac']( A big boost over its Intel-based machines [ Jon Porter / [The Verge]( ] [Click to view images]( [Ring recalls 350,000 smart doorbells after some of them caught fire]( "The video doorbell's battery can overheat when the incorrect screws are used for installation, posing fire and burn hazards," the notice said. [ Rishi Iyengar / [CNN]( ] [This is Cool Section Title] [The incredibly bizarre Dean Browning and "Dan Purdy" Twitter drama, explained]( [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( [Facebook]( Twitter [Instagram]( [Recode by Vox]( This email was sent to {EMAIL}. Manage your [email preferences](, or [unsubscribe]( to stop receiving emails from Vox Media. View our [Privacy Notice]( and our [Terms of Service](. Vox Media, 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20036. Copyright © 2020. All rights reserved.