Since the advent of social media, guardrails have been in place to deal with extremist content and helping prevent users from becoming radicalized. The removal of many of these safety mechanisms recently was based on arguments prioritizing freedom of speech over the damage done by excessive hate content.
Algorithms' aggressive promotion of content stoking the worst impulses of an ever-growing number of radicalized individuals online – including some with mental health issues – has overtaken the guardrails that remain.
What is currently happening online is no surprise to MEMRI – which, for almost two decades, has worked with social media companies and government agencies on understanding how online radicalization can lead to attacks. As I wrote for Forbes in March 2026, this algorithmic radicalization is something that tech companies must tackle.
In their manifesto, the 18-year-old perpetrators of the May 18 shooting at a San Diego mosque, who according to authorities were likely radicalized online, set out their enmity towards many races and religions and referenced known online extremist influencers. They are part of an entire generation impacted by the toxic social media content fed to them by algorithms.
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