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from the nielson-smielson-ratings-mean-nothing-except-to-a-reality-tv-show-president dept.
YouTube Recommendations for 'Alt-Right' Videos have Dropped Dramatically, Study Shows:
Google has made "major changes" to its recommendations system on YouTube that have reduced the amount of "alt-right" videos recommended to users, according to a study led by Nicolas Suzor, an associate professor at Queensland University of Technology.
During the first two weeks of February, alt-right videos appeared in YouTube's "Up Next" recommendations sidebar 7.8 percent of the time (roughly one in 13). From Feb. 15 onward, that number dropped to 0.4 percent (roughly one in 250).
Suzor's study took random samples of 3.6 million videos, and used 81 channels listed on a recent study by Rebecca Lewis [.pdf] as a starting point. That list includes voices like Richard Spencer, an American white supremacist, but also includes more mainstream voices like Joe Rogan, who does not self-identify as alt-right but often plays host to more extremist voices on his podcast (including alt-right figures such as Alex Jones).
The drop appears significant, but it's difficult to figure precisely how that drop occurred. We don't know if YouTube is targeting 'alt-right' videos specifically or if the drop off is part of broader changes to YouTube's recommendation system.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by https on Friday March 15 2019, @08:02PM (2 children)
Genocide has always followed a predictable pattern, and it always start with speech of a particular kind. The form of that speech is readily identifiable. So it's not trying to silence what "we don't like", it's trying to silence people advocating allowing genocide to become a policy topic.
Genocide is not a policy to discuss. It's a crime to be punished, stopped, prevented. Not stopping these discussions, allowing them to become commonplace and open, is step one on the road to mass graves, which is a damn sight worse than the violence you're imagining "won't be far behind". Or not, I dunno, maybe you have a really vivid imagination.
Offended and laughing about it.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 15 2019, @09:02PM
You seem to have written this assuming nobody will ever be mistaken about whether something is genocide or not, the folks who believe in 'white genocide' are a real counterexample in today's society of why people need to be willing to consider that what they currently view as genocide (i.e. mass immigration) is actually acceptable policy.
The alt-right claim that a genocide is occurring and are trying to stop it. They're wrong, but this IS what many of them believe in good faith. The worst of them skip the 'debate people to convince them this genocide is wrong' stage and go straight to direct action to prevent what they incorrectly think is genocide.
They're wrong, it isn't genocide and it isn't planned, but to convince them of that you need them to be willing to discuss whether what they consider genocide is acceptable policy. By precluding that discussion you preclude attempts to convince them that what they call 'white genocide' isn't genocide.
You can't demand they be open to debating what they consider genocidal policy if you aren't.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 16 2019, @08:08PM
So, can you scientifically demonstrate that a genocide is just over the horizon if we allow this speech on platforms like Youtube, Google, etc.?
And I always find it funny that people don't realize that these speech restrictions will inevitably impact more than just The Bad People that everyone hates. The adpocalypse on Youtube, for example, didn't stop at nazis; it impacted many left-wing independent political commentators such as Kyle Kulinski, David Pakman, and countless others. Basically, people who aren't mega corporations and who challenge the status quo are going to be screwed over, while you sit there and pretend that only evil nazis are being smitten.