We didn’t wake up one morning hating homeless people. Scroll long enough, and you’ll see why: shaky videos of suffering, thumbnails designed to shock, livestreams that turn human crisis into entertainment. This is the version of homelessness the algorithm rewards, a narrative that fuels outrage, suppresses empathy, and hides the real cause behind the crisis: a lack of affordable housing, negatively shaping Americans' views on homelessness and unhoused people.

Viral content presents a loud, false narrative about homelessness that gets viewed and shared by millions every day. Over time, as clicks become views and views become follows, creators who know little about homelessness earn big money from sensational content. And the more it spreads, the more believable the narrative becomes.

The more these unchecked narratives get repeated as fact, the harder it becomes to rally support for real solutions to homelessness. They teach people to fear or look down on their unhoused neighbors — while celebrating the very voices that harm them. And that shaping of Americans' views on homelessness is how extreme poverty is able to thrive in one of the wealthiest nations on earth.

Homelessness spiked by 18%, reaching a record high in 2024. People are filming TikTok videos of themselves living in cars with their children. In some cities, seniors and veterans have been documented living in storm drain tunnels. Sidewalks. Tents. Vehicles. Underpasses. Flammable shacks. These are places where hundreds of thousands of Americans live, and too many die each year. Have we no empathy?

The truth is that algorithms, sensational content, and profit-driven narratives often obscure the truth and shape Americans' views on homelessness, taking root in virtual spaces where they spread faster and more powerfully than in the real world. Instead of being encouraged to support solutions to the homeless crisis, we are being taught to hate our neighbors, and, in some cases, even ourselves. Because, yes, homelessness can happen to you. Sudden and unexpected homelessness is the most common kind there is.

But content creators aren’t interested in those truths. Their only goal is to pull you deeper into a stream of shocking, attention-grabbing clips. And in that world, you never see the families living in motel rooms, waking up at 4 a.m. to get their kids to school by bus, or scrambling each night to secure a shelter bed. That reality is too ordinary to generate profit. Instead, you’re shown a different kind of desperation — the kind that keeps you watching, shaping Americans' views on homelessness.

Read the full article about how algorithms shape our views of homelessness by Cynthia Griffith, Jocelyn Figueroa, and Erin Wisneski at Invisible People.