JANINE HILLS | How algorithms undermine our lives and businesses - TimesLIVE

When suburban residents drive through townships, they are likely on a blind tour because they do not read community newspapers. Considering that community stories rarely pop up on Google, it is understandable for non-residents to be oblivious to goings-on in the townships.

That is the work of algorithms — silent, invisible, and utterly unaccountable.

In the same way, algorithms have systematically strangled South African brands, media houses, and reputations for years.

Online search engines are not neutral tools. They are active agents of reputational distortion based on a Western-biased hierarchical order that causes real damage to less favoured nations such as South Africa.

The Competition Commission’s media and digital platforms market inquiry, published in November 2025 after 24 months of evidence gathering, confirmed what many of us have suspected for years.

Google’s algorithm distorts competition between news media organisations because it over-represents global news media in South Africa for search and top stories and under-represents vernacular and community media.

The commission found that this algorithmic bias has contributed to the erosion of media in South Africa. A US technology company’s code — written in Silicon Valley, tested in California, deployed without a single thought for isiZulu or Afrikaans or Sepedi — has been actively undermining South African journalism for more than a decade.

Daily newspapers’ print sales dropped 66% between 2018 and 2023. Print advertising income for three major publishers fell 38% in 2018. Broadcasters experienced a 47% decrease since 2016. And what did Google do? It appropriated news content from these declining media sites without compensation, resulting in less traffic for publishers, a situation exacerbated by AI summaries.

Google has now agreed to pay R688m to South African media houses.

If you thought supporting local was as simple as typing a business name into Google and clicking the first link, Roxane Gordon’s story is revealing. Just before Valentine’s Day this year, the florist in Durban North posted a tearful TikTok video that went viral.

The reason? Customers searching for her online were being redirected to NetFlorist, a much larger competitor. Customers weren’t choosing NetFlorist. They were being guided there by Google’s paid advertising algorithms. The sponsored links at the top of search results weren’t there because they were the best option — they were there because they paid for a spot.

Facebook’s algorithms do not understand most South African languages. As a result, content creators can post fake news and be paid for it, without consequences

For a small flower business, Valentine’s Day orders fund rent, staff salaries, supplier payments, and deliveries. Losing even a fraction of possible sales to algorithm-driven redirection can make or break a business.

This is not a story about one florist. This is a story about every small business in South Africa trying to compete in a digital economy where the rules are written by the people who sell the advertising.

And then there is Meta. The Competition Commission found that Meta’s algorithms have deprioritised news content, reducing organic reach and referral traffic for local publishers.

Facebook’s algorithms do not understand most South African languages. As a result, content creators can post fake news and be paid for it, without consequences.

The decision to show a post to a Facebook user depends entirely on Facebook’s algorithms. This is not mistake but a business model. Engagement pays. Quality journalism does not.

South Africa has a vibrant small business sector, but the platforms that control digital visibility favour those who pay, and not necessarily those who deserve.

South Africa has a proud journalistic tradition, but the technology that distributes news prefers foreign content over local stories. It is commendable that the Competition Commission has taken important steps to redress the imbalance.

The commission has not only secured a R688m media support package from Google, but it has also demanded that Google introduce new user tools to prioritise local news sources. It has recommended that Meta and X stop deprioritising South African news media posts with links.

But these acts in themselves are a Band-Aid on a bleeding wound. The underlying problem is algorithmic, and it is global. We, as South Africans, must stop treating algorithms as neutral. They are not.

The next time you search for something on Google, ask yourself: is this really the best result, or is this just the result that paid the most to be seen? When you read a news story online, ask yourself: is this true, or is the content just what the algorithm wants you to believe?