BuzzFeed Plans New Social Platform to Combat Toxic Algorithms

BuzzFeed is stepping into the social media space with an ambitious new project aimed at countering the negative effects of AI-driven content algorithms. The company, led by CEO Jonah Peretti, is developing a platform that prioritizes human curation over algorithmic engagement, aiming to reduce divisive, addictive content and promote genuine, valuable discussions.

While BuzzFeed has not officially announced the platform’s name, a new website for the initiative suggests it may be called “Island.” Peretti’s motivation stems from the belief that existing social media platforms have become overly optimized for engagement, often favoring outrage, fear, and sensationalism to keep users scrolling.

As Peretti explained: “Deep learning AIs are designed to maximize the time we all spend on these apps. It turns out when an app company doesn’t care about content, and asks an AI to maximize usage, the result is a service that incentivizes content that maximizes addictiveness.”

BuzzFeed’s alternative social platform aims to curate trends, highlight meaningful stories, and incorporate humor while avoiding the negativity-driven content cycle. The project will also integrate BuzzFeed’s existing brands, such as HuffPost and Tasty, making it resemble a news aggregator with social elements rather than a traditional social network.

While the concept is intriguing, questions remain about whether it can compete with established platforms or if it will simply be a BuzzFeed community app under a new name. Peretti has emphasized that AI will be used to empower users, not manipulate them, but how this will work in practice is still unclear. The platform is still under development, but has a waitlist available and a manifesto page that explains the point of the platform.