Algorithm-driven public sphere poses threat to democracy and republican values

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Algorithm-driven public sphere poses threat to democracy and republican values

Published: 27 May. 2025, 00:01

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Son Young-jun

The author is a professor of media and advertising at Kookmin University.

Korea’s political polarization has grown beyond a clash of opinions. It has deepened into a culture of distrust and resentment. The ongoing presidential race continues to be overwhelmed by mockery and animosity, while calls for reconciliation are being largely ignored. Confirmation bias is becoming further entrenched. People see only what they want to see, hear only what they want to hear and believe only what they want to believe.

People watch the second presidential election debate in the waiting area of Seoul Station in central Seoul on May 23. [YONHAP]

Public discourse has fragmented. Meaningful dialogue between opposing sides is nearly extinct, and shared social reflection on what is right and good has faded. Even the same news is interpreted in drastically different ways. It is no longer just a matter of perspective — disagreement now exists over the facts themselves. The possibility of consensus in the public sphere has all but disappeared. Although elections are meant to be a competition to create a better country, they are dominated by insults and derision rather than inspiration.

This polarization is especially acute in politics. Korea’s political sphere has long been marked by intense confrontation — from ideological division following liberation, to oppression and resistance under authoritarian rule, to factional bickering in the post-democratization era. Today, more than 80 years since liberation, political figures still demonize their opponents, weaponizing hatred and hostility for strategic gain. Their pursuit of power is overt and unrelenting, yet how they intend to use power to tangibly improve citizens’ lives remains unclear. The actual differences in campaign pledges between rival parties are often negligible.

The Korea Communications Commission launched an on-site investigation into Naver on Oct. 6, 2023, over allegations that the portal operator intentionally manipulated its news search ranking algorithm. A team of more than 10 inspectors was dispatched to Naver’s headquarters in Bundang District, Seongnam, Gyeonggi, to determine whether its news service violated the Telecommunications Business Act. [YONHAP] 4o

This toxic political climate is reflected directly in our public sphere, which has become deeply partisan. That partisanship has moved beyond traditional media and now extends into new media environments shaped by platforms like YouTube and algorithm-based portals. These platforms have overtaken legacy outlets in reach and influence. According to the Korea Press Foundation’s “Digital News Report 2024,” half of South Koreans get their news from YouTube, and nearly 60 percent view portals as news media.

But algorithmic curation has a distorting effect. Algorithms repeatedly feed users similar content, reinforcing existing biases while narrowing the range of perspectives they encounter. They prioritize sensational and confrontational material that provokes outrage. Citizens, unaware of the degree of manipulation, are swept up in partisan narratives, confined within algorithmically constructed echo chambers.

In such an environment, distinguishing truth from falsehood becomes increasingly difficult. Algorithms are optimized solely for clicks and prolonged engagement. Political theorist Hannah Arendt distinguished between two kinds of truth: rational truth, like scientific or mathematical truths that apply universally, and factual truth, which pertains to political realities shaped by interpretation and debate. Non-political information on science, health or the arts typically falls into the former category, and algorithms can be helpful in distributing such content. But political truth — subject to competing narratives and grounded in democratic deliberation — requires openness to complexity, diversity and disagreement.

Algorithms are ill-equipped to foster that kind of public reasoning. They do not serve the pursuit of political truth. Instead, they suppress context and nuance, repeatedly surfacing provocative content that drives engagement. The more distorted or biased the material, the more aggressively the algorithm promotes it. Rather than amplifying democratic discourse, algorithms flood public space with emotional triggers. As a result, the values of diversity essential to democracy, and the principles of checks and balances fundamental to republican governance, are being undermined.

Communication shaped by algorithms is akin to an unbalanced diet. Just as poor nutrition harms the body, informational imbalance deteriorates the mind. Relying on algorithms for political understanding is as misguided as climbing a tree in search of fish. These platforms alter our cognitive frameworks, distorting reality much like a convex or concave lens would. Compared to traditional media’s editorial biases, algorithmic distortion is far more pervasive and systemic.

A person looks at YouTube logo at ″Google For Korea 2024″ event held in Jung District, central Seoul, in 2024. [YONHAP]

Today’s public sphere is consumed by rage. There is an abundance of political information, but little space for constructive debate or persuasion. The unchecked ambitions of politicians are transmitted without scrutiny, while citizens are deprived of opportunities for reflection. The digital public sphere has boxed individuals into rigid ideological camps, reducing political engagement to tribal loyalty. Algorithms do not simply distort public discourse — they structurally disfigure it.

We now face a paradoxical flood: a deluge of content with no water fit to drink. The algorithm-driven public sphere is eroding the foundations of liberal democracy and republican governance. The time has come to examine not only the convenience algorithms offer, but also their impact on the health of public discourse and the media ecosystem.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.