ROLE OF DIGITAL CONTENT RANKING ALGORITHMS IN DISSEMINATION OF RELIGIOUS FUNDAMENTALIST NARRATIVES

Annotation

In this article we analyze the influence of content ranking algorithms, which various online platforms use to keep users’ attention, on the spread of religious fundamentalist narratives. These technologies automatically adjust the output of materials to the personal preferences of each individual, which, coupled with the user’s personal actions to personalize their online experience, leads to the formation of one-dimensional epistemic structures within which they interact only with information that is consistent with their views. Among other things, it can strengthen the user’s existing beliefs associated with religious fundamentalism. The study also shows that modern religious fundamentalism, in most of its manifestations, is somehow aimed at changing the political and social structure, and actively uses the Internet to promote its narratives: from radical calls for violence to religiously tinged propaganda. However, the role of algorithms in this process is not so great: in order for content ranking technologies to show the user a fundamentalist approach, the user must initially show interest in the relevant topic. In addition, as can be seen from real-world cases, the transition to total support for radical ideas requires not only passive consumption of online- content, but also active interaction with worldview holders both online and in real life. Thus, recommendation algorithms for ranking content, although they may contribute to the entrenchment of users’ beliefs, still remain secondary in terms of spreading religious fundamentalist narratives in relation to the direct transmission of information.

Keywords

Digital religion, digital technologies, digital communications, digitalization of religion, recommendation algorithms for ranking content, fundamentalism, religious fundamentalism, radicalization, religious radicalization

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The study was funded by the Russian Science Foundation grant No. 24–28–00272, https://
rscf.ru/project/24–28–00272/; Тhe Russian Christian Academy for the Humanities named after
Fyodor Dostoevsky, 15, Fontanka Embankment, Saint Petersburg, 191023, Russian Federation