Whether we realize it or not, we’re all being manipulated on the internet. There are ways to tackle this problem -- companies can do a better job creating algorithms that don’t manipulate people for profit. And internet users can educate themselves so they are better able to recognize and avoid online manipulation.
Here is a reading list to help you start to understand the problem of online manipulation.
What is Online Manipulation?
The Internet Knows You Better Than Your Spouse Does
Scientific American
How Does the YouTube Algorithm Work? A Guide to Getting More Views
Hootsuite Blog
Understanding Facebook’s Algorithm Could Change How You See Yourself
The New Republic
Online Manipulation: Hidden Influences in a Digital World
Susser, Roessler, & Nissenbaum, SSRN
Five Generations of Online Manipulation: The Evolution of Advanced Persistent Manipulators
Foreign Policy Research Institute
How Can Online Manipulation Personally Affect Me?
The Making of a YouTube Radical
New York Times
Dear Tech Companies: I Don’t Want to See Baby Ads After My Child was Stillborn
Washington Post
On YouTube’s Digital Playground, an Open Gate for Pedophiles
New York Times
YouTube Extremism and the Long Tail
The Atlantic
How YouTube Radicalized Brazil
New York Times
Google’s Algorithm For Detecting Hate Speech Is Racially Biased
MIT Tech Review
How Does Online Manipulation Work?
This Is How You’re Being Manipulated
Gizmodo
How YouTube Pushes Viewers Towards Extremism
Fortune
Netflix’s The Great Hack Brings Our Data Nightmare To Life
Wired
What You Don’t Know About How Facebook Uses Your Data
New York Times
Google Directing People to Extreme Content and Conspiracy Theories
Sky News
How YouTube Drives People to the Internet’s Darkest Corners
Wall Street Journal
What Are Social Media Platforms Doing About It?
The Fight for the Future of YouTube
The New Yorker
Beyond Fixing Facebook
Free Press
YouTube Executives Ignored Warnings, Letting Toxic Videos Run Rampant
Bloomberg News
YouTube Tweaked Algorithm to Appease FTC But Creators are Worried
Bloomberg News