Tell HN: X is opening any tweet link in a webview whether you press it or not

Re:Tell HN: X is opening any tweet link in a webview whether... by edent on Tuesday November 04, 2025 @09:33AM (#45811470)

That isn't true. I signed up for a fresh account for a project I was working on. Despite following no-one and not having interacted with anything, all I was pushed were racists, bigots, and extremist political content.

Oh, and the owner's account.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Tell HN: X is opening any tweet link in a webview whether... by degamad on Tuesday November 04, 2025 @03:59PM (#45815820)

While this is an interesting data point, the main thing it tells us is that when the algorithm has no information about your preferences, that it skews racist.

This might be because, absent other information, the algorithm defaults to the "average" user's preferences.

Or it might be evidence of intentional bias in the algorithm.

The next piece of data we need is, if we take a new account, and only interact with non-Nazi accounts and content (e.g. EFF, Cory Doctorow, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty, AOC/Obama/Clinton etc), does the feed become filled with non-racist content, or is it still pushed?

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Tell HN: X is opening any tweet link in a webview whether... by afavour on Tuesday November 04, 2025 @04:07PM (#45815901)

Or you can just leave the platform. We don’t always need to interrogate the exact reasons why something happens, we can just see it, document it, then go elsewhere.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Tell HN: X is opening any tweet link in a webview whether... by int_19h on Tuesday November 04, 2025 @09:53PM (#45818444)

> This might be because, absent other information, the algorithm defaults to the "average" user's preferences.

... of people actively using Twitter, yes. Which is precisely the point.

[ Parent | on HN ]