The Algorithm Hates Palestine
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I’ve been writing on Medium for over five years and I know that any algorithm is a harsh mistress. Sometimes you’re up, sometimes you’re down, it’s a mystery. But since October 7th I’ve been way down, and I know why. The algorithm hates Palestine. As Audre Lorde said, “the master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house” and right now, the master is dismantling Gaza completely. The tools need to either get in line or STFU about it.
Post October 7th, my traffic has been cut in half and earnings into a third. I’ve gone from around 30,000 views a month to 15,000 and around $1,000 to $500, though I’m still writing my fingers off. While I ostensibly have 40,000 followers on Medium, this is a meaningless metric. The algorithm rules them all, and the algorithm gives negatives fucks about Palestine. You either need to ‘respect both sides’ of this genocide, or whistle past the graveyard amicably. Supporting the Resistance is borderline illegal in western countries, and suppressed across its private media, including Medium.
Looking at what my feed is now, it’s actually much worse than that. The algorithm has actually been pushing me false atrocity propaganda about the rebellion of October 7th (savages! rapists! kill them all!), and even articles by people committing actual war crimes. Seriously, there’s an IOF war tourist…
