What Happens When Liberty Gets Curated
In 1789, the people of France had a pretty radical idea: what if power didn’t flow from a powdered wig on a gilded throne, but from us? From the people. Cue: Bastille storming, bread riots, and some pretty spicy pamphlets. The French Revolution didn’t just reshape Europe—it rewired our imagination of rights, voice, and resistance.
Now fast-forward to today.
We still talk about freedom. But now it’s personalized. Curated by algorithms. Optimized for engagement. Delivered straight to your feed like it’s a box of macarons.
Welcome to the Revolutionary Filter Bubble™—where liberty still exists, but only if the algorithm decides you’ll find it “relevant.”
Marie Antoinette Would’ve Had an Amazing TikTok
Let’s face it: the queen of cake and couture was built for the grid. In today’s world, her filter bubble would be thick with lifestyle influencers, pastel macarons, and TikToks about haircare during economic collapse. No dissent, no debate, just vibes and Versailles.
Meanwhile, Robespierre would be doomscrolling conspiracy memes, a timeline full of lo-fi montage videos romanticizing revolutionary justice with moody lighting and slow-motion tricolors and Discord servers planning their next meme-based uprising. He might even launch a Substack called “Citizen.exe” and post daily threads about betrayal, justice, and anger.
The people? They’re still out there. But their posts don’t trend. Their comments get shadowbanned. Their reality doesn’t fit the algorithm’s narrative arc—and unlike the Bastille, you can’t storm a feed you can’t see.
The Algorithm Didn’t Censor the Revolution. It Just Didn’t Show It to You.
Unlike 18th-century monarchs, today’s digital regimes don’t need to suppress information with brute force. They just quietly decide what rises, what sinks, what disappears. It’s censorship by design, not decree. And it’s all automated, scalable, and weirdly polite.
Enter: the algorithm. A set of invisible rules, written by people you’ve never met, deciding what deserves your attention. Not based on truth. Based on clicks.
What’s an algorithm, you ask? Imagine a librarian who only recommends books you already agree with—and quietly shreds anything that might challenge your worldview. Now imagine that librarian works for a data-hungry megacorp, has no ethics training, and is fueled entirely by ad revenue. That’s your feed curator.
Your digital neighborhood isn’t Paris, it’s a content funnel shaped by what you’ve already liked. If you’re angry, you’ll get angrier. If you’re apathetic, you’ll get more cat videos. All roads lead to “more of the same.”
Either way, the revolution doesn’t make it to your feed unless it comes with trending audio and a hashtag dance challenge.
Liberty as a Recommendation Setting
The best part? You probably agreed to it. Somewhere between scrolling Terms of Service and skipping cookie settings, you gave consent to be governed by vibes, code, and profit optimization.
Instead of a censor, there’s a relevance score. Instead of a king, there’s a content management system. Instead of a constitution, there’s a content policy.
Which brings us to a core truth: authoritarianism doesn’t always arrive in boots. Sometimes it shows up in UX design and default settings.
Wait, So What Is a Filter Bubble?
Good question. A filter bubble is what happens when algorithms show you more of what you already engage with—and less of everything else. It’s like a playlist of your own opinions, on loop. Convenient? Yes. Dangerous? Also yes.
Filter bubbles isolate us from disagreement. They reinforce our biases. They make it harder to see what’s real, or to even realize that alternative views exist. They turn public space into private echo chambers—quiet, cozy, and deeply unfree.
Think of it as the opposite of a revolution. No clash. No chaos. Just the slow, quiet erosion of complexity.
So What Do We Do?
- Recognize the system. If you’re only seeing one worldview, you’re not free—you’re filtered.
- Disrupt the pattern. Follow people who challenge your assumptions. Seek out complexity.
- Reclaim the feed. Algorithmic power is real. So is your right to reclaim your digital environment.
- Teach others. Help your friends, students, and followers recognize the difference between personalization and propaganda.
- Log off sometimes. The revolution might not be televised, but it just might be happening IRL.
Final Thought:
The French Revolution didn’t start with a tweet—it started with a collective gut feeling that the system was rigged. That power was too far away, too unaccountable, and too absurdly dressed.
Today, we might not be storming castles, but we are navigating a digital landscape designed to sort, predict, and monetize us. Maybe it’s time to reawaken that revolutionary instinct—not with pitchforks, but with better questions, sharper awareness, and just a touch of digital disobedience.
Episode 2: Voices of Revolution is part history lesson, part glitch in the matrix. Watch it, laugh a little, and ask yourself:
If liberty gets curated, is it still liberty at all?
