Manufacturing Popularity. Humans & AI, #1

Manufacturing Popularity by Rami Ayach is a timely, incisive exploration of how digital platforms, algorithms, and influencer economies have transformed the very meaning of what it means to be "popular" in the 21st century. Far from being an organic reflection of public interest, popularity is now a calculated outcome-engineered through opaque systems of algorithmic curation, influencer seeding, and economic incentives.
This groundbreaking research unpacks the inner workings of digital trend formation through an interdisciplinary lens-merging media theory, sociology, and platform capitalism. Ayach employs a qualitative, multi-method approach, including discourse analysis, platform auditing, and expert interviews, to expose the invisible mechanics that dictate what the world sees, shares, and believes. From contrasting case studies of 1995 and 2025, to the global inequalities embedded in platform features and monetization tools, Manufacturing Popularity reveals how perception is not merely shaped but manufactured.
The book dives deep into the homogenization of content aesthetics, the commodification of attention, and the erosion of creative diversity-all while raising urgent ethical questions about agency, representation, and truth in the algorithmic age. With intellectual clarity and social urgency, Ayach calls for a future where digital systems are transparent, inclusive, and aligned with human values. Manufacturing Popularity is not just a critique-it's a manifesto for reclaiming authenticity, equity, and creative autonomy in a world ruled by invisible code.