Moving this discussion here from the Tension in the ME thread.
I use Google Web Search vs the default search. This removes the AI result, and for a lot of searches is very generic, not tailored to personal searches, but will differ based on things like language and location. It's easy to change your default search engine. Change it to
https://www.google.com/search?q=%s&udm=14&tbs=li:1
This removes AI, and gives you verbatim results. You should be able to add a custom search to any browser. When you do a search, you will see a line under "Web" you can click the "all" to get the normal search result as well.
https://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/...-overview.html
Reddit obviously feeds you communities you visit, even if you don't have an account(I don't). Clearing the cache is handy if you end up getting fed crap from clicking one Reddit link.
Xitter is well known to tailor for engagement, and feed you whatever Elon thinks is important to manipulate his masses. Stay off Xitter.
Bluesky can be whatever you want. The default "following" is just the people you actually follow, mostly in chronological order(I think it boosts some very active or popular posts if you also follow them). Pick reliable people and interests. It doesn't drop Elon's favourite banger of the day in there. They have a discover feed that is based on your own interests and clicks. If you use the default feed, you aren't getting algorithmicly fed stuff. You can even make your own.
I don't know or care about Facebook, but I'm sure it's probably the worst of everything.
The point is, not everything is being manipulated, but it is important to know what is, how to get around it, and what to avoid. And no, I'm not saying I'm perfect. Sometimes I post a bit rushed, or I don't care enough to verify because it's funny, or silly, or still encompasses a point, or I've just been lazy.