[braythwayt]

Not just ads, but yes ads.

If I friend/follow a lot of people, and I have a simple timeline, I see what they're thinking about.

But if there's an algorithm selecting which posts I see from my social circle, and it happens to shade one way versus another, there are no ads, no synthetic content, but I have still been manipulated.

FB experimented with this quite famously a while back, they used sentiment analysis to see if they could manipulate people into being more or less depressed.

Without informing users, obtaining their consent, or following any of the other rigorous requirements for doing psychological research that we demand from medical proactitioners.