Reform UK voters are the least likely to see posts from friends and family on social media, according to a new study that says platform algorithms may be worsening isolation and division.
The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) said its research found that people who support Reform UK were also the most likely to be shown content from brands and news organisations rather than posts from personal contacts. The thinktank said the pattern emerged after analysing the feeds shown to social media users across Instagram, Facebook, X, Bluesky and TikTok.
According to the study, only 13% of Reform UK voters saw content from someone they knew. That compares with 23% of Green party voters, who were the most likely to see posts from friends and family in the research.
The IPPR said the findings suggest that social media algorithms are not simply reflecting users’ existing interests, but may also be shaping the kind of material people see in ways that reinforce separation between groups. The thinktank argued that this can contribute to a sense of isolation and division online.
The research focused on posts shown to users across several major platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, X, Bluesky and TikTok. Its central concern was the balance between personal content and material from outside sources such as brands and news publishers.
In the case of Reform UK voters, the study found a noticeably lower share of posts from known contacts than for supporters of other parties. By contrast, the same users were more likely to encounter branded and news-related content, indicating a different kind of social media experience from those who were more often shown updates from people in their own networks.
The findings add to wider debate about the role of algorithms in determining what people see online. Social media feeds are typically organised by automated systems that prioritise content based on platform design and user behaviour, rather than showing posts in simple chronological order. The IPPR’s analysis suggests that this can have political as well as social consequences.
While the study focused on party support and the kinds of content appearing in feeds, its broader message was about how social platforms can influence the way people connect with one another. If users are shown fewer posts from friends and family, the thinktank said, that may reduce the sense of personal connection that social media is often expected to provide.
The report’s conclusions point to a concern that the architecture of social media may be contributing to broader forms of fragmentation. Rather than bringing people closer together, the IPPR argued, algorithms can push users toward a feed dominated by brands, publishers and other external sources, leaving less room for the posts that most directly reflect personal relationships.
The study’s headline finding was clear: among the groups analysed, Reform UK voters were least likely to see social content from people they know, while Green party voters were most likely. The thinktank said that discrepancy illustrates how different political groups can experience social media in markedly different ways.
The IPPR’s work comes amid growing scrutiny of how social media platforms curate content and whether those systems amplify division. Its findings suggest that what users see is not only a product of who they follow, but also of the invisible ranking systems deciding which posts rise to the top of the feed.
