Sensationalism, clickbait — it's all media phenomena we well know to be aware of. But how exactly did algorithms and the development of AI influence these digital forms of manipulation? Venelize de Lange from media update takes a look.
It's well established that sensationalism is a growing problem driven by competition and clicks, and that it undermines journalistic integrity by prioritising attention over factual reporting. Yet, despite this, the media phenomenon continues to persist. The question is: why?
Even though many have called for publications to return to journalism's purpose — reporting on facts clearly and accurately without unnecessary exaggeration or emotional manipulation — the media industry has long stopped being driven solely by journalistic principles.
Traditionally, sensationalism in news articles stemmed from human judgement about what would attract the most attention, but modern digital platforms have transformed sensationalism into something far more pervasive and systematic.
Digital platforms and AI systems continuously refine content based on user behaviour such as clicks, watch time, shares and engagement which ends up producing an iterative cycle where emotionally charged and urgent or exaggerated language is consistently reinforced.
It can then be said that content is shaped by what performs best within these platforms. Resultingly, audiences are presented with the stories that are maximised for engagement — not the one with the most journalistic integrity.
This also means that the story you are seeing is not just sensationalised, but it is the most sensational version of it tailored to you since content is personalised around your interests and behaviours through algorithmic selection assessed by your online habits.
Additionally, recent algorithm studies done by the Istanbul Aydin University indicate that routine exposure to algorithmically curated content increases users' trust in platform systems, while simultaneously shaping passive news consumption behaviours.
This continues to create a distorted perception on news and the spread of misinformation, where individuals feel sufficiently informed without actively seeking out information and instead relying on algorithmic feeds to deliver it.
This redistribution of informational control contributes to a decline in traditional forms of social trust, as users become more dependent on obscure systems for news selection.
Sensationalism, then, becomes more than a tool used to garner excessive media attention, and is instead embedded in the systems that determine what we see and how it is framed. In this way, media content is forever changed by algorithmic sensationalism since it reshapes how trust itself is formed and maintained through digital communication.
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*Image courtesy of Canva
**Information sourced from media update, Columbia University and Istanbul Audin University