Research On The Gatekeeping Theory From The Perspective Of Algorithm

The development of media technology has changed the media structure.The number of audiences who getting information from social media platforms and aggregate news applications is increasing,and platforms selected personalized content for special audience by using algorithm which has become the dominant gatekeeper in the information flow channel.Gatekeeping is a process including the selection,shaping,display,timing,withholdirg,or repetition of messages,and the algorithm gatekeeping process has its own characteristics from the micro to the macro.Based on the analysis of content and users' data,algorithms satisfied the content preference of specific audience accurately and efficiently.Relying on the algorithm,platform companies dominated the distribution of information and began to influence the content production process as"supra gatekeepers",and the precise positioning of target users by algorithms helped platforms win the favor of advertisers and earn a huge number of money.News organizations,therefore,have to seek other profit models.The algorithm gatekeeping process is also influenced by other social institutions such as government and markets and factors of social system level like culture and ideology.This article proposes an algorithm-led gatekeeping model.News items produced by producers such as individual journalists and news organizations is placed on platforms,for example,Facebook or Google.And after the algorithm-led gatekeeping process,personalized content is pushed to specific audience who using the platforms.The selection routines of audiences affect the algorithm gatekeeping,and the algorithm gatekeeping rules also influence the production process of news items.From the perspective of algorithm,this model emphasizes the characteristics of the algorithm gatekeeping behavior in the information flow channel,and what should be aware is this model does not represent a complete information flow process.Algorithm is not omnipotent but has flaws and brines a series of problems.Gatekeeping is the construction process of the pseudo-environment,and the existence of the algorithm "black box" makes it impossible to judge the accuracy of the algorithm gatekeeping results and the next possible consequences.The algorithm-led gatekeeping process lacks an effective withholding mechanism for disinformation,low-quality information and other unsuitable information.Although used as a method to compensate for algorithmic flaws,manual review has not completely solved the problem,on the contrary,it has brought new worries.