The Algorithm as a Political Actor: A Digital Socio-Political Study of Power in Contemporary Media Discourse (The Arrest of Nicolás Maduro as a Case Study)

Abstract

This study explores how algorithms have evolved from technical tools into socio-political actors shaping digital media discourse during international crises. Using a socio-political semiotic approach, it analyzes mechanisms of ranking, repetition, and suppression in transnational media coverage of the arrest of Nicolás Maduro. The findings show that algorithms exercise implicit symbolic power by reshaping news priorities and normalizing political events within selective narratives, highlighting the need to integrate algorithmic analysis into media and political research