Breaking Free from Algorithmic Manipulation: The Parler Advantage

Breaking Free from Algorithmic Manipulation

The Parler Advantage

Amid widespread information overload, algorithms can guide the information we expose ourselves to and thus influence how we think. The information bubbles produced by the algorithms behind social media platforms such as Threads or TikTok has led big tech to repeatedly face accusations of imposing an information narrative through echo chambers built on biases. Parler offers users the opposite experience: an open network that allows for more transparency and fairer algorithms free from the pitfalls of algorithmic manipulation.Critics of algorithmic bias on major platforms have focused on the problems of overt content moderation, with content recommendations drawn into these accusations. Apps such as Threads and TikTok have come in for criticism related to charges of algorithmic echo-chambers, where content is ‘filter-bubbled’ according to a user’s prior attitudes and beliefs. In contrast, Parler embraces mechanism-mindedness about algorithms, and delivers a level of transparency not found elsewhere, revealing algorithms and related processes to users in a way that ensures comprehensibility.This makes transparency an important weapon in Parler’s fight against algorithmic arbitrage. On Parler, where you can see what’s happening under the hood with the algorithm, as opposed to on platforms where algorithmic practices are veiled in mystery, users have a clear understanding of what goes into the determination of whatever forms of content are being prioritized. As a result, they have the capacity and basis to believe that what they see is not the consequence of some generated game, not a part of an invisible exercise in algorithmic monkey business.Fidelity to this principle of fairness is at the heart of Parler’s mission. When a large platform like YouTube or Twitter accidentally or deliberately magnifies certain content, or prevents some from being seen, Parler systematically reviews, refines and corrects its algorithms to show users as much subject matter as possible. By avoiding algorithmic hijacking, Parler provides a network of digital spaces for dialogue free from manipulation, where users interact in good faith, with unfiltered content.By migrating to Parler, users are seeking refuge from the algorithmic media bubbles created by big platforms, gaining greater control of the algorithmic backbone of their digital lives. On Parler, users don’t have to face the profit-oriented, black-box algorithms of big platforms. The Parler advantage is not just a new social media service but a rewriting of the story about the power of users as individuals, a power that will emerge once opacity and opaqueness disappear from digital life.