Mark Cuban: Social media algorithms have a greater impact on how people think than anything else
Entrepreneur Mark Cuban posted on X on October 29, 2026, that after talking with Gen Z professionals in Texas (college graduates and professional friends), he found that many of their friends did not know who James Talarico or Ken Paxton was, and did not even recognize their names.
Cuban said that social media algorithms have a greater impact on how people think than anything else. He noted that users each have unique feeds on the main platforms they use, like fingerprints, with no two being exactly the same.
James Talarico (Democrat) and Ken Paxton (Republican) are the main candidates in the 2026 Texas U.S. Senate election, which will be held on November 3. Current polling shows the two are close, and multiple outlets have rated it a toss-up.
Original source:
Title: Talked to GenZ professionals... Publisher: Mark Cuban (@mcuban) Publication date: 2026-10-29 URL: https://x.com/mcuban/status/2115677088321606143 Source nature: post by the person involved Verification status: Read the full original post in this issue, verification date 2026-10-28 Supporting content: Cuban's specific remarks about talking with Gen Z professionals in Texas and the impact of social media algorithms
ABAB AI Insight
Mark Cuban has long focused on the role of social media algorithms in shaping politics and public opinion. During the 2024 election, he had already repeatedly pointed out that algorithms reinforce existing preferences by continuously pushing similar content, with a particularly significant effect on young male users; he had suggested that campaign teams try reverse-engineering algorithms to reach target audiences more precisely.
The 2026 Texas U.S. Senate election is one of the key matchups in the U.S. midterm elections. Democratic candidate James Talarico (state representative) and Republican candidate Ken Paxton (the current state attorney general) are competing for the seat being vacated by John Cornyn. Talarico raised more than $60 million in the third quarter, setting a record for a Senate candidate, and his overall fundraising has exceeded $134 million; outside spending supporting Paxton has been larger. Multiple polls show the two are in a dead heat.
Cuban's use of the actual awareness among Gen Z professionals in Texas as an example points to the fact that algorithm-driven information bubbles have reduced the effectiveness of traditional campaign advertising and candidate-name dissemination. For candidates who rely on conventional media coverage and ad buys, if they cannot effectively enter users' personalized feeds, they may still face a lack of basic name recognition even in a high-profile race.
ABAB News · Cognition Law
Algorithmic personalized feeds reduce the effectiveness of candidate-name dissemination and traditional ad reach.
In high-profile races, basic awareness may still be lacking among specific groups because of information bubbles.