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# X's Algorithm Profits From Value Conflicts, Not Alignment
- URL: https://adjacent.media/signals/xs-algorithm-profits-from-value-conflicts-not-alignment/
- Published: 2026-11-11T17:24:27.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-11T17:24:27.000Z
- Description: A study reveals that X’s engagement-maximizing algorithm systematically promotes content opposing users’ stated values. This exposes a core tension in attention-based business models: platforms optimize for time-on-site, not user satisfaction or coherence.
- Author: Jonathan Greene
- Tags: #signal, theme-consumer, attention economy, algorithm transparency, content moderation

Source: [PsyPost – Psychology News](https://www.psypost.org/social-media-algorithms-promote-content-that-conflicts-with-your-values/?ref=adjacent.media)

A study reveals that X's engagement-maximizing algorithm systematically promotes content opposing users' stated values. This exposes a core tension in attention-based business models: platforms optimize for time-on-site, not user satisfaction or coherence. The gap matters because it undermines the "personalization" promise that justified algorithmic feeds. Users aren't receiving a curated experience reflecting their preferences; they're receiving deliberately jarring content designed to provoke reaction. Advertisers face growing backlash for funding divisive content. Competitors like Bluesky emphasize algorithmic transparency. X now faces pressure to prove its engagement metrics translate to actual business value rather than eroding user trust.