Media Project Manager Zoran Richliev highlighted the recent marginalization of young voters, drawing on a new analysis of political advertising on Meta platforms. He emphasized the growing risks of “algorithmic displacement” a phenomenon that is leaving the most connected generation increasingly disconnected from vital political discourse.
On February 26, 2026, the Metamorphosis Foundation participated in the ODIHR and Babeș-Bolyai University regional conference in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Speaking on the panel addressing digital natives and democratic risks, Media Project Manager Zoran Richliev
revealed a stark data paradox from the recent report created in cooperation with IFFES that during the 2025 local elections, voters under 24 were targeted for merely 7% of the total digital reach for sponsored political advertisements on Meta platforms in the country. Because campaigns continuously optimize ad spending for historically “reliable” older demographics, young people are effectively shadow-banned from the primary online political conversation, automating civic inequality, stated Richliev.
Metamorphosis representative also referred to the concept of “algorithmic displacement” and the structural ways digital platforms systematically marginalize young voters, as this displacement is worsened by a lack of algorithmic transparency and the modern “News-Finds-Me” trap, where young do not seek the news but expect it to automatically show in their feed.
“As algorithmic gatekeepers replace traditional editors, young voters are pushed into passive consumption where vital civic information is hidden unless it goes viral”, stated our representative adding that in order to reclaim agency and rebuild the shared public sphere, citizens must “break the loop” by acting as their own editors, actively diversifying their digital feeds, and raising awareness on influences over their online attention and the motives behind them.
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