Zuckerberg Horizon
The point on a social media platform where more than half of the content presented to users is either paid messaging inserted by the platform owner or artificially-generated ("bot") content, masqueraded as human-generated content.
The Zuckerberg Horizon is typically identified as a watershed moment, where an established social media platform loses both its value to users as a community discussion forum, and its and general credibility as a source of impartial information. Beyond this horizon, human-to-human communication represents the minority of content presented to everyday users of the platform.
Social media platforms crossing the Zuckerberg Horizon typically fall into a state of rapid public decline, though several documented exceptions exist. Examples of platforms surviving the horizon include those catering to extremist or "anti-fact" communities (e.g. The Flat Earth Society), platforms primarily funded by corporate interests (e.g. climate-denial forums), or those dedicated to distributing state-sponsored propaganda.
The Zuckerberg Horizon is typically identified as a watershed moment, where an established social media platform loses both its value to users as a community discussion forum, and its and general credibility as a source of impartial information. Beyond this horizon, human-to-human communication represents the minority of content presented to everyday users of the platform.
Social media platforms crossing the Zuckerberg Horizon typically fall into a state of rapid public decline, though several documented exceptions exist. Examples of platforms surviving the horizon include those catering to extremist or "anti-fact" communities (e.g. The Flat Earth Society), platforms primarily funded by corporate interests (e.g. climate-denial forums), or those dedicated to distributing state-sponsored propaganda.
Twitter passed the Zuckerberg Horizon when Elon Musk re-activated thousands of previously-banned extremist accounts and disabled the accounts for legitimate news outlets critical of the decision such as The New York Times, CNN, and the Washington Post.
Zuckerberg Horizon by Chilkoot December 16, 2022
