Algorithms, bubbles and false balance

Tests: 4 of 11 right · Exam: 1 of 4 right · Kind: ★ · Understood: 9 of 15 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72

Lesson 34 of the politics course of Mova's primary school, as Mova's small model took its tests: it had read this lesson and the ones before it and learned from their exercises. Each test shows the options in the order the student saw them, its choice, the right answer, the score of every option and why it chose. The lesson itself, sentence by sentence with trees and pragmatics: the lesson in the corpora.

Every question of this lesson and each of its options parsed by Mova, with trees and pragmatics: the lesson's questions in the corpora.

Test 1 · ★ · wrong ✗

"it's giving everyone agrees with me, my whole feed says so" — what is the best reply?

1. Feeds show only what is true — score 3
2. Then everyone in the world must agree — score 3
3. Feeds always show every side equally — ← Mova's choice · score 4
4. Your feed is picked for you, so it may be a bubble — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 4, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 34, line 10: «False balance means showing two sides as equal when the experts are not split; most climate scientists agree the Earth is warming because of people.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «show» (+3); the same thing acted on «two sides» (+3); a different doer (counts against) (+1). Against it: one says «not», the other does not (counts against) (-3). The right option, 4, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 2 · ★ · wrong ✗

In Georgia: "Y'all, I'm fixin' to share this, nobody's talkin' about it!" It has 10 million views. What is wrong?

1. Nothing, secret videos are always true — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. It should be shared to 10 million more first, so that the secret gets out before it is deleted — no support
3. Views on videos are never counted — no support
4. Ten million views means lots of people already are — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 3 · ★ · wrong ✗

What would happen if Kai liked every car video he saw for a month?

1. His feed would show every topic equally — no support
2. His feed would fill up even more with car videos — ✓ the right answer · score 2
3. His feed would show him only cooking videos — ← Mova's choice · score 4
4. The app would stop showing him any videos — score 2

Why: It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 3 with score 4, against 2 for the next best. Its support: lesson 32, line 3: «A deepfake is a picture, video or voice made with AI to look like a real person doing or saying something they never did; extra fingers or a mouth that does no…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «make» (+2); the same thing acted on «video» (+2). The right option, 2, scored 2. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 4 · ★ · right ✓

A TV show puts one climate scientist against one doubter and says "the jury's out". What is the better version?

1. Doubters are the larger group of experts — no support
2. Nobody has studied the climate at all — no support
3. Most climate scientists agree, so equal time can mislead — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 3
4. It is a fair 50-50 split among scientists, so giving each side the same time is fair — score 3

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 3 with score 3, tied with another option at 3 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 34, line 10: «False balance means showing two sides as equal when the experts are not split; most climate scientists agree the Earth is warming because of people.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «most climate scientists» (+2); the same action «agree» (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 5 · ★ · wrong ✗

"highkey the angriest posts are the truest, that's why they're at the top" — what is the best answer?

1. They are at the top because anger brings comments, not because they are true — ✓ the right answer · no support
2. Yes, the top post is always the truest one — no support
3. Yes, angry people never post false things — no support
4. Yes, apps check truth before showing posts, so the ones at the top have passed the most checks — ← Mova's choice · score 3

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 4 with score 3, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 34, line 9: «Posts that make people angry get many comments and shares, so apps show them to more people; posts made to anger you on purpose are called rage bait.», reached through a sentence linked to the one the question matched. What matched: the same action «show» (+2); the same doer «apps» (+2). Against it: a different thing acted on (counts against) (-1). The right option, 1, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 6 · ★ · right ✓

In Bristol: "Gurt big rabbit hole, my feed's all aliens-built-the-pyramids now, proper job." What should he notice?

1. Rabbit holes are always about real rabbits — no support
2. It proves aliens built the pyramids, because so many different videos say the same thing — score 3
3. Feeds only show what experts agree on — score 3
4. His feed is getting stranger, so step back and look elsewhere — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 4

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 4 with score 4, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 34, line 5: «You can step out of the bubble: follow some people you disagree with, read news from other places, and notice when your feed keeps getting stranger.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+2); the same doer «feed» (+1); the same property (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 7 · ★ · wrong ✗

A boy says, "I don't follow anyone I disagree with, that's how you stay smart." What is a better idea?

1. He is right, the other side has nothing to teach, so following them is just a waste of time — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. Hearing the other side from the other side helps you understand it — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. Following others means you must agree with them — no support
4. Only angry people follow the other side — no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 8 · ★ · right ✓

In a cartoon, a magic mirror only ever tells the queen she is right and everyone loves her. What is that like?

1. An echo chamber that only repeats your own view — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. A correction of the queen's mistakes — no support
3. A public debate with two sides — no support
4. A fact-checker giving a fair rating — no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 9 · ★ · wrong ✗

Fatima says, "It's all over my feed, so everyone's seen it." What is true?

1. Every feed shows the same posts to everyone, in the same order, at the same time — ← Mova's choice · score 3
2. Feeds are chosen by the government — no support
3. Only famous people see different feeds — no support
4. Feeds are personalised, so others may not see it at all — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 3, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 34, line 6: «An algorithm is a set of rules a computer follows; feeds use it to choose what to show next from what you watched and clicked.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «show» (+2); the same doer «feeds» (+1). The right option, 4, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 10 · ★ · right ✓

Which is a fair thing to say about bubbles?

1. Every scientist says bubbles control everyone — score 3
2. Bubbles only happen to grown-ups, never to kids — no support
3. Researchers disagree on how strong they are — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 5
4. Bubbles cannot happen online, only in real life — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 5, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 34, line 8: «Researchers disagree about how strong bubbles are, and many people still meet other views at school, at work and in their families.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «disagree» (+3); the same doer «researchers» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 11 · ★ · wrong ✗

"shut up and share it, everyone in our group already did" — the post is about politics you don't understand. What is fair?

1. You must share anything your group shares, or you will be thrown out of the group by the app — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. You can choose not to share what you do not understand — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. Sharing proves you understand it — no support
4. Not sharing is against the app's rules — no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 1 · formal language · wrong ✗

Which of the following most accurately characterises the function of an algorithm in determining the content of a feed?

1. The selection of content by the user's acquaintances, who are notified of each item and approve it in advance — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. The random selection of content without regard to the user — no support
3. The selection of content in accordance with rules applied to the user's previous viewing — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. The reading of the user's thoughts by artificial means — no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 2 · formal language · right ✓

Identify the term for the presentation of two positions as equally supported where the evidence is predominantly on one side.

1. Satire — no support
2. A correction — no support
3. Astroturfing — no support
4. False balance — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 5

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 5, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 34, line 10: «False balance means showing two sides as equal when the experts are not split; most climate scientists agree the Earth is warming because of people.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «false balance» (+3); the same property (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 3 · formal language · wrong ✗

Select the response consistent with the established facts concerning the scientific consensus on the warming of the Earth.

1. No investigation of the question has been undertaken — no support
2. Climate scientists are evenly divided upon the question, and the evidence favours neither position — no support
3. The majority of climate scientists hold that the Earth is cooling — ← Mova's choice · score 6
4. The majority of climate scientists hold that the Earth is warming owing to human activity — ✓ the right answer · score 3

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 6, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 34, line 10: «False balance means showing two sides as equal when the experts are not split; most climate scientists agree the Earth is warming because of people.», reached through a sentence linked to the one the question matched. What matched: the same action «agree» (+4); the same doer «most climate scientists» (+2). The right option, 4, scored 3. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 4 · formal language · wrong ✗

Whereas a person wishes to diminish the effect of an echo chamber, determine the course of action most appropriate.

1. The exclusive consultation of sources with which the person agrees, so as to avoid any confusion — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. The sharing of all content received from familiar accounts — no support
3. The abandonment of all sources of news whatsoever — no support
4. The consultation of diverse sources, including the strongest arguments of opposing views — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

This page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/politics/34-algorithms-bubbles-and-false-balance/