Source: Axios
A Kettering Foundation and Gallup study quantifies what platforms have long denied: the relationship between algorithmic feeds and anti-democratic sentiment isn’t correlational noise but measurable behavioral shift, with heavy users actively departing from democratic norms rather than passively consuming partisan content. This matters because it collapses the distinction between “engagement metrics” and “civic health”—the business model that monetizes attention is simultaneously producing citizens less committed to democratic governance. The finding also reframes platform regulation from a speech question into a political stability question, forcing policymakers to weigh whether algorithmic amplification is incompatible with democratic participation.