Recommendation algorithms operated by social media giants TikTok and X have shown evidence of substantial far-right political bias in Germany ahead of a federal election that takes place Sunday, according to new research carried out by Global Witness.
The non-government organization (NGO) undertook an analysis of social media content displayed to new users via algorithmically sorted “For You” feeds — finding both platforms skewed heavily toward amplifying content that favors the far-right AfD party in algorithmically programmed feeds.
Global Witness’ tests identified the most extreme bias on TikTok, where 78% of the political content that was algorithmically recommended to its test accounts, and came from accounts the test users did not follow, was supportive of the AfD party. (It notes this figure far exceeds the level of support the party is achieving in current polling, where it attracts backing from around 20% of German voters.)
On X, Global Witness found that 64% of such recommended political content was supportive of the AfD.
Testing for general left- or right-leaning political bias in the platforms’ algorithmic recommendations, its findings suggest that non-partisan social media users in Germany are being exposed to right-leaning content more than twice as much as left-leaning content in the lead up to the country’s federal elections.
Again, TikTok displayed the greatest right-wing skew, per its findings — showing right-leaning content 74% of the time. Although, X was not far behind — on 72%.
Meta’s Instagram was also tested and found to lean right over a series of three tests the NGO ran. But the level of political bias it displayed in the tests was lower, with 59% of political content being right-wing.
Testing “For You” for political bias
To test whether the social media platforms’ algorithmic recommendations were displaying political bias, the NGOs’ researchers set up three accounts apiece on TikTok and X, along with a further three on Meta-owned Instagram. They wanted to establish the flavor of content platforms would promote to users who expressed a non-partisan interest in consuming political content.
To present as non-partisan users the tests accounts were set up to follow the accounts of the four biggest political parties in Germany (conservative/right-leaning CDU; center-left SPD; far-right AfD; left-leaning Greens), along with their respective leaders’ accounts (Friedrich Merz, Olaf Scholz, Alice Weidel, Robert Habeck).
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