Fighting the “System”: A Pilot Project on the Opacity of Algorithms in Political Communication

Abstract

After a triumphalist phase, digital social media are now under fire for a variety of reasons: they are accused of collecting and circulating personal data, producing fake news, personalising messages (creating echo chambers), radicalising opinion, and disrupting election processes. The legitimacy of election processes and digital social media’s contribution to the public sphere are now being questioned, and it is important to document and analyse these new dynamics of political communication. In particular, we need to consider the role played by automation of the production and circulation of political messages through the use of algorithms and artificial intelligence processes. What is the impact of personalised messages on the public sphere and public opinion, and what is at stake when thousands of “personalised” messages can be automatically created and delivered through microtargeting? With the future of the sense of “vivre-ensemble” at stake, can critical approaches save the day?