Change.org recommends petitions to users based on several factors designed to show you content relevant to your interests and location. Understanding how the recommendation system works can help you manage what you see and engage with petitions that matter most to you.

How Change.org determines which petitions to show you

The Change.org recommendation system uses your location and language as the foundation for all recommendations. The country you're accessing Change.org from and your language setting establish the base of what appears in your feed.

Beyond location and language, Change.org uses several equally weighted factors to recommend petitions:

● Signature volume and trend: Petitions with high signature volume within the past 24 hours appear as 'popular' or 'trending' content. You'll see these under 'What's happening on Change.org' on the homepage and as 'Popular' petitions on the Browse page.

● Category tags and topics: Petition starters add tags to their petitions by searching for existing tags or creating new ones. If you've recently engaged with a certain topic on Change.org, you may see other petitions related to that topic. For example, if you signed a petition about protecting wildlife, Change.org may suggest other petitions about wildlife, natural habitats, or environmental protection.

● Similar user engagement: Change.org may suggest petitions to you if other people who signed the same petition you engaged with also interacted with those petitions.

● Recent petitions: Newly published petitions that meet a minimum signature threshold may appear in your recommendations. You'll find these under 'Recent' petitions on the Browse page and 'Most recent' petitions on topic pages.

● Keyword relevance: When you use the search bar, Change.org displays petitions based on how relevant they are to your search terms, as long as they meet a minimum signature threshold.

Why you might see similar petitions after clicking "not interested"

The "not interested" option on Change.org petitions provides feedback to the recommendation system. However, clicking "not interested" does not immediately stop all similar petitions from appearing.

You may continue to see similar petitions because petition starters may have tagged their petitions in categories you've previously engaged with.

If you want to stop receiving petition recommendation emails entirely, manage your email preferences in your Change.org account settings. Log in to your account, visit your account settings, and adjust your email preferences to control which types of emails you want to receive. You can also click "Unsubscribe from this kind of message" from a petition recommendation email to cancel these emails in case you received one.

Change.org's role in petition recommendations

Change.org does not create, manage, endorse, or fact-check the petitions shown in your recommendations. All petitions on Change.org are created and managed by individual or group users and represent many different opinions across the platform.

The recommendation system is designed to surface content you might find relevant based on your past activity, location, and interests. Recommended petitions do not reflect Change.org's position or endorsement of any cause.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why am I being sent petitions I disagree with?

Change.org is an open platform where users create petitions representing many different viewpoints. The recommendation system shows you petitions based on topic categories and your past engagement, not on whether you agree with the content. Change.org does not endorse or fact-check recommended petitions. If you want to stop receiving petition emails, adjust your email preferences in Account Settings. If you find a petition that violates our Community Guidelines, you can also report the petition by clicking the “Report a policy violation” button at the bottom of the petition page.

Contacting a petition starter