Algorithms as facts and fabrications: ethnographic stories of factishes from the Costa Rican Caribbean

Abstract

How do algorithms shape the experience of facts? Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in Limón, Costa Rica, this paper explores the role of algorithms in mediating three kinds of “factishes”: data truths, affective facts, and mystic revelations. The article unfolds as a series of stories that capture the interactions between Costa Ricans and the algorithms of social media platforms. To analyze these relationships, we develop a “ventriloquist” ethnographic approach that gives voice to algorithms by interpreting extant literature and the experiences of our interlocutors. We argue that algorithms enable individuals to navigate composite realities and assume multiple positions within them rather than merely conflating truth and fiction or strictly separating them.