The main reason Americans are more divided than ever isn’t Donald Trump, Joe Biden, or AOC. It isn’t MAGA or Antifa.
It’s social media. And the reason is scarier than you think.
Facebook, X, TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram are all designed to make money by maximizing user engagement. Their mission isn’t to provide balanced information or ensure users see all sides of a topic.
The horrific side effect of that engagement optimization is that it reinforces whatever political beliefs or emotional triggers we already have. creating what we now call the echo chamber. Or as I like to call it, the wilting of the brain.
When we like, share, comment on, or even pause to view certain posts, each platform records our behavior. The algorithms weigh each online view, then recommend more content with similar interests, tone, and worldview.
Just last month, after I searched for designer suits online, Facebook flooded me with ads for more suits. It worked. I bought two I really liked.
No harm done. Until it’s not just suits.
I tested this theory recently with the Israel–Palestine conflict.
As a Jew, I follow numerous Jewish and Israeli news outlets: The Jerusalem Post, Ynet, i24 News, The Times of Israel.
As a result, I’m served a nonstop stream of every atrocity committed by Hamas. I know the instant Hamas places missiles under schools or hospitals. I see every stabbing in the West Bank, every rocket attack, every statement about killing Jews.
Most of it’s true. But following only those sources, I never see humanizing stories about ordinary Palestinian families trying to live. I learn nothing about Palestinians who oppose terror. They become faceless collateral damage.
Worse, I never see Israel’s ugly side. I’m told every Israeli action is justified, that aid restrictions never starved civilians, that every flattened city was necessary, that Israel’s army is purely moral.
So last month, I did the reverse. I temporarily unfollowed Israeli outlets and followed only Arab and far left-wing Israeli ones. And suddenly I saw, over and over, endless footage of Palestinians brutalized by settlers and soldiers.
I’ve now watched dozens of videos of Israeli settlers attacking Palestinian farmers, women, and children; burning fields; storming homes. I’ve seen soldiers firing into crowds in Gaza, entire neighborhoods reduced to rubble, and elderly Palestinians harassed at checkpoints.
If you love Israel and follow only Israeli sources, you’ll reach one conclusion, with zero nuance. If you love Palestine and follow only Arab or far-left sources, you’ll reach the opposite, with zero nuance.
For one side, Israel is a saint; for the other, Israel is a monster. For one, Palestinians are all terrorists; for the other, they’re all victims.
In reality, Hamas is to its core an evil death cult that raped, kidnapped, and massacred. There are also dangerous extremists in the West Bank.
And there are millions of Palestinian civilians who aren’t terrorists. Who deserve to live in peace and dignity. And have their own nation alongside Israel.
In reality, Israel completely leveled Gaza after the massacres and kidnappings by Hamas on October 7. Still, millions of Israeli civilians aren’t war criminals and want peace. Arabs in Israel have equal legal rights.
Israeli Jews, 60% of whom are Jews of color, aren’t “colonizers in a foreign land.” And many Palestinian Arabs lost their homes when Jews returned.
Many truths exist at once. But social media only gives you one, making each of us angrier and more certain we’re right. Leaving no space for the “other.”
It’s not limited to Israel–Palestine.
If you pause to read a post criticizing illegal immigration, algorithms tag you as conservative and feed you more of the same. Stories about gang members, crime, and overburdened social services. If you read about ICE abuses, you’ll get a steady stream of government cruelty and immigrant suffering.
Social media runs on something called collaborative filtering. If you interact with certain content or influencers, the platforms assume you’ll want similar voices, even ones you never searched for.
They also exploit engagement bias. Emotional or polarizing content provokes far more comments, shares and outrage so algorithms push the extremes to keep engagement high. Outrage drives clicks. Nuance doesn’t.
Over time, your feed skews toward more sensational, more ideological versions of what you already believe.
Then in comes confirmation feedback. Every click teaches the system that it guessed correctly, so it keeps serving you more of the same. You rarely see opposing information. Your “normal” shifts further toward one pole.
The result: a world trapped in echo chambers. Dissenting views vanish or get mocked. Polarization hardens. Conspriacy theories flourish. People become more confident yet less accurate. Content creators chase outrage for visibility.
It’s a grim trajectory, but you can save your own brain.
First, actively follow diverse voices to reset the algorithm’s assumptions.
Second, use incognito mode or log out when searching political topics.
Third, clear your watch and search histories periodically.
Fourth, engage critically with a mix of sources, not just to react.
We may never return to a less divided world. But we can still reclaim our own minds.
This post originally appeared on Medium and is edited and republished with author's permission. Read more of Jeffrey Kass' work on Medium.