Saw a local news story blow up in my feed and then vanish overnight

Last Thursday, a story about a small park cleanup in my town, Millerton, got posted by our local news page. It had maybe 50 likes at first. By Friday morning, my feed was flooded with it, and it had over 15,000 shares from people nowhere near here, all with the same shocked comments. The algorithm clearly latched onto the emotional headline and pushed it hard. But by Saturday, it was completely gone from my main feed, like it never happened. It felt like watching a wave crash and then the water just getting sucked back out. The whole thing was over in less than 48 hours. Has anyone else tracked how fast the algorithm can drop a topic once engagement shifts?

3 comments

3 Comments

anthonynelson22d ago

Yeah, it's like the algorithm gets bored.

sarahp3422d ago

Reminds me of my old radio, always needing a good whack to work right. Same energy with these platforms sometimes.

brooke_taylor22d ago

Totally get that feeling. I had a reel do really well for a week then just drop off a cliff. I started posting at totally random times instead of my usual slot and that seemed to shake things up a bit. It's like you have to keep it guessing or it just moves on to the next thing.