X Algorithm Feeds Users Political Content Whether They Want It or Not

WSJ Tech News Briefing

The Wall Street Journal

News, Tech News

4.3 • 1.7K Ratings

🗓️ 30 October 2024

⏱️ 14 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

An exclusive Wall Street Journal analysis finds that new users to social-media platform X with interests in topics like cooking and crafts are blanketed with political content. WSJ reporters Alexa Corse and Jack Gillum speak with host Charlotte Gartenberg about their experiment. Plus, why Apple’s success in the artificial-intelligence race is riding on the iPhone 16. Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Z-Scaler extended its Zero Trust architecture with powerful AI engines trained by 500 trillion daily signals
0:07.8	to prevent ransomware and AI attacks that target business.
0:11.7	Z-scaler Zero Trust plus AI. Learn more at Z-scaler
0:16.0	dot com slash Zero-Trust AI.
0:20.0	Welcome to Tech News Briefing. It's Wednesday, October 30th. I'm Charlotte
0:27.3	Gartenberg for the Wall Street Journal. Apple is set to report earnings tomorrow and
0:31.6	a lot is riding on the success of its latest
0:33.9	crop of iPhones. So how are sales of the new iPhone going? What does that mean for
0:39.2	Apple's AI ambitions? We'll find out. And thinking of joining X for content on cooking and crafts?
0:46.0	Well, you might receive a lot of political content as well.
0:50.0	An exclusive W.S.J. analysis finds that X accounts supporting former
0:55.0	President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris dominate the feeds of
0:59.4	new users to the platform, even when those users' interests were far from political.
1:05.0	Our reporters Jack Gillum and Alexa Course will join us to discuss.
1:10.0	But first, Apple needs its latest slate of iPhone 16s to succeed in order to secure a foothold in the artificial intelligence race.
1:19.0	The first features of Apple's generative AI service, Apple Intelligence, launched earlier this week, and the company
1:26.4	is going to need to win big to stay competitive with other big AI developers.
1:31.8	So how are analysts feeling ahead of Apple's fourth quarter earnings?
1:34.9	Dan Gallagher, a columnist for W.S.J's heard on the street, is here to talk us through it.
1:39.9	All right Dan, how are iPhone 16 sales going?
1:44.0	Well, we don't officially know yet because Apple doesn't report its results until tomorrow,
1:49.0	and that'll be the results for the period that they launch the iPhones in.
	...

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