I thought so initially, but it has been six months, maybe more. With speed-scrolling past that content and forcefully engaging with different content, I tried to teach Algo that I didn’t care about that, but yeah, it didn’t work.
Twitter Algo, by default, doesn’t care, indeed. But overlords do if they want to start a war. The timing perfectly aligns with politicians and media from the West pushing a story that Russia plans to start the next war on the Balkans and Russians pushing a story that the West plans to start the next war on the Balkans.
That would be wild if true but I highly doubt it. If probably has to do with some associative attribute that tells the algo you are more likely to click that stuff because others who fit a similar profile also click it, but who knows .. no way to prove anything.
Yup, it is wild. I can't be 100% sure that it is malicious intent. I highly doubt that I fit that profile; 99% of the accounts I follow and engage with are design, art, tech, and dev.
Maybe this is my simple interpretation.
You have shared info you are nationality X. Twtr knows that outrage fuels engagement. Content Y allows for this to happen, and increase retention based on what others who are X have reacted previously.
Perverse incentives.
Or even glanced at something once in trending without giving it much thought..
I haven't shared my nationality. But they sure have my IP. Maybe it's not war-fueling; maybe it is "just" engagement farming. Regardless, it's hideous.
IP, and phone number + country code, and preferred languages on your device, and languages you search in, and languages of notes you look at and translate (or not) etc.
Nationality/related interest seems trivially inferred.
No phone number. Everything is/in US English. Notes I look at are 99% in English as well. Only IP.
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