Links between extremism online and personalization algorithms are, by now, widely accepted. However, discussions surrounding sociopolitical radicalization and its relationship to filter bubbles often fail to account for user agency. Based on interview ( N = 29) and survey ( N = 1100) data, our study asks how politically engaged social media users make sense of algorithmic personalization related to political topics of interest. Our results indicate that most respondents conceptualize personalization as a functional process of social media platforms seeking to deliver relevant information, while a small but vocal number of users claim algorithms are designed not to personalize content but rather to enact an ideological agenda. Our findings, which include real-time user responses to algorithms, suggest that algorithms do not simply radicalize unsuspecting users but, rather, are negotiated to reveal a more complex digital landscape.

中文翻译：

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“他们试图影响我以获得更可接受的观点”：政治活跃的社交媒体用户的算法想象

到目前为止，网络极端主义和个性化算法之间的联系已经被广泛接受。然而，围绕社会政治激进化及其与过滤气泡的关系的讨论往往没有考虑到用户能动性。根据访谈 （ N = 29） 和调查 （ N = 1100） 数据，我们的研究询问了参与政治的社交媒体用户如何理解与感兴趣的政治话题相关的算法个性化。我们的结果表明，大多数受访者将个性化概念化为社交媒体平台寻求提供相关信息的功能过程，而少数但直言不讳的用户声称算法的设计目的不是为了个性化内容，而是为了制定意识形态议程。我们的研究结果（包括用户对算法的实时反应）表明，算法并不会简单地激化毫无戒心的用户，而是经过协商以揭示更复杂的数字环境。