Algorithms instead of editors: how technology shapes our worldview and why it's a bad thing

The German public broadcaster has an app that made it very convenient to read the news. In addition to accessing video content from the newsroom – the main product – you could also read texts that were collected on the homepage according to a principle that, until recently, was typical for most modern news media. In other words, they were selected for the reader by the editorial team.

After a while, the app started insistently offering to select news for me algorithmically, based on my reading behavior. A little later, a "main page" option appeared in the stories format, where top news was presented as short videos or freeze-frames based on photos with captions-subheadings that you had to swipe through.

From the very beginning, I was annoyed by the idea that a broadcaster, which is actually funded by direct taxation and aims to promote public awareness, tries to use tools that either lead to the formation of a certain bubble in the perception of information or prevent a deep perception of information.

I want to read texts, not watch short videos. And I want the news on the main page to be selected by a competent editor who would construct a relatively trustworthy picture of the world for me, not an algorithm designed to increase the time I spend in the app.

Yes, I understand the idea of "following the customer" and trying to keep up with modern trends. But when these trends contradict the main task of the publication, it's a bit too much for me personally.

However, after the latest app update, which the broadcaster announced with great pride, I no longer have a choice – the main page, filled with the editor's picks, is simply gone. Either watch the "pseudo-stories" or give us permission to select "personalized" news for you. Or go read the texts in the order they were published in separate sections, if you're a Luddite who doesn't understand technology.

However, I'm not advocating for burning down data centers. I'm just convinced that when people try to compete with tech giants and their algorithms on "their turf," they are doomed to fail.

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