Pedophiles, anti-vaxxers, homophobes: YouTube’s algorithm caters to them all GlobeDebate
Social-media platforms appear to be having an amorality contest, and this week it was YouTube’s turn to shrug at the harm that it’s caused.from people who sexualize them, even though it has known about the problem for months. When prompted with a search for erotic videos, YouTube’s recommendation algorithm is still serving up images of increasingly young children doing what should be innocuous, such as playing in swimsuits or doing gymnastics.
Every major social-media platform – Twitter, Facebook, Reddit – has played a part in creating this age of disinformation and extremism. But unlike the other platforms, YouTube shares the ad money it makes with content creators: Tech journalistargues that it’s effectively their employer, whether it accepts that title or not. That means the platform is directly delivering rewards to its creators, including those who propagate prejudice, creepiness and lies.
But senior executives, including chief executive officer Susan Wojcicki, seem to be so focused on the advertising money that YouTube’s audience brings in that they ignore the well-being of those same users. They dismissed these warnings, along with suggestions of how to counter the problem. The site’s growth depends on “engagement,” after all – the raw amount of time people stare at the screen.
At the 2018 South by Southwest conference, Bloomberg reported, Ms. Wojcicki defended the problematic content YouTube hosts by comparing the platform to a library. “There have always been controversies, if you look back at libraries,” she said. But YouTube isn’t a bookshelf. It’s a billion-dollar bookseller, promoting some of the hundreds of millions of stories in its possession over others. Its algorithm doesn’t ignore, or even bury, the factless ramblings of vaccine-science deniers (including at least one
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Canadian anti-Goop doctor takes aim at increasingly strict U.S. abortion lawsA Canadian doctor best known for criticizing Gwyneth Paltrow's wellness brand Goop is turning her attention to combating increasingly restrictive abortion laws in the United States.
Read more »
Masked suspects posted anti-Semitic imagery across Burlington: policeInvestigators in Halton Region have circulated surveillance camera images of two hooded suspects they believe placed anti-Semitic graffiti and posters throughout the City of Burlington over the last two weeks.
Read more »
Opinion: In politics, honesty is the best policy – and should be required by lawIn politics, honesty is the best policy – and should be required by law GlobeDebate
Read more »
Opinion: A call to end arms: Abolishing nuclear weapons is a dream worth pursuingAdvocates like Setsuko Thurlow remind us that we cannot become inured to the devastating and increasingly normalized reality of nuclear weapons
Read more »
Opinion: Why we need to hear from war photographersOn June 21 and 22, for the first time, photographers covering a stretch of 50-plus years of human conflict will gather in Toronto to talk about what motivates them. Dr. Anthony Feinstein, who spent a year interviewing them, explains the importance of their work - and its often hidden cost
Read more »