It's good to see some congressional attention finally being paid to YouTube, but focusing exclusively on the YouTube algorithm is a fundamental misunderstanding of the problem. It's disheartening to see this fallacy get repeated again and again in these contexts https://twitter.com/jenn_elias/status/1352665207773011968
To really understand extremism on YouTube, it's crucial to understand its celebrity culture, social networking capabilities, and content moderation decisions. Treating this as a problem of one technological feature is to trivialize a much broader culture supported by YouTube
Anyways here's a piece I wrote over a year ago explaining why YouTube could remove its recommendation algorithm entirely tomorrow and it would still be one of the largest sources of far-right propaganda online. https://ffwd.medium.com/all-of-youtube-not-just-the-algorithm-is-a-far-right-propaganda-machine-29b07b12430
All of YouTube, Not Just the Algorithm, is a Far-Right Propaganda Machine

YouTube’s celebrity culture and community dynamics play a major role in the amplification of far-right content

https://ffwd.medium.com/all-of-youtube-not-just-the-algorithm-is-a-far-right-propaganda-machine-29b07b12430
You can follow @beccalew.
Tip: mention @twtextapp on a Twitter thread with the keyword “unroll” to get a link to it.

Latest Threads Unrolled:
Those who think consciousness raising & movement building are disconnected, or even a distraction from electoral politics have not paid attention to the history of social change.In this thread, we
Read more
The 2020s will be known as the Remote Work decadeA few predictions of what is likely to emerge[ a thread ] Third Space: Office and Working from Home will
Read more
1/29: Have you ever had a concept explained to you that helps frame complex issues you’ve been wrestling with and opens your eyes to new possibilities? A concept that I
Read more
By continuing to use the site, you are consenting to the use of cookies as explained in our Cookie Policy to improve your experience.