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Propaganda in an Age of Algorithmic Personalization: Expanding Literacy Research and Practice
Open accessAbstract
In this commentary, the author considers the rise of algorithmic personalization and the power of propaganda as they shift the dynamic landscape of 21st‐century literacy research and practice. Algorithmic personalization uses data from the behaviors, beliefs, interests, and emotions of the target audience to provide filtered digital content, targeted advertising, and differential product pricing to online users. As persuasive genres, advertising and propaganda may demand different types of reading practices than texts whose purpose is primarily informational or argumentative. Understanding the propaganda function of algorithmic personalization may lead to a deeper consideration of texts that activate emotion and tap into audience values for aesthetic, commercial, and political purposes. Increased attention to algorithmic personalization, propaganda, and persuasion in the context of K–12 literacy education may also help people cope with sponsored content, bots, and other forms of propaganda and persuasion that now circulate online.
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“Hobbs (2020) suggested a group activity where students signed into their Google accounts and conducted searches on countries like Finland, United States, or Germany on the same day and compared results to facilitate awareness that algorithms curate the content seen by users differently.”
From Expanding on the Frames: Making a Case for Algorithmic Literacy (2023) · cites this paper as Hobbs (2020)
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Cited by
Sorted by citations
Development and Validation of an Algorithm Literacy Scale for Internet Users
Dogruel, L., Masur, P., & Joeckel, S. (2022) · Communication Methods and Measures · doi:10.1080/19312458.2021.1968361 · Cited by 177
Expanding on the Frames: Making a Case for Algorithmic Literacy
Loyola Marymount University, & Archambault, S. (2023) · Communications in Information Literacy · doi:10.15760/comminfolit.2023.17.2.11 · Cited by 19
Metadata
- Authors
- Hobbs, R.
- Affiliations
- University of Rhode Island Kingston USA
- Venue
- Reading Research Quarterly
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2020-02-28
- Volume
- 55
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 521-533
- ISSN
- 0034-0553 (ISSN-L)
- 1936-2722
- OpenAlex
- W3008021242
- Cited by
- 85
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 9 · 2025: 16 · 2024: 18 · 2023: 21 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 12 · 2020: 3
- FWCI
- 100.98
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- Locations
- Reading Research Quarterly (publishedVersion)
- Journal of Media Literacy Education (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Education › Literacy, Media, and Education
- Social Sciences › Education › Literacy and Educational Practices
- Social Sciences › Education › Linguistics and Education Research
- Keywords
- algorithmic personalization, propaganda, persuasion, literacy education, K-12 education, advertising, sponsored content, bots, reading practices, targeted advertising, price differentiation
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