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Source: Technology Review
A new study [PDF] suggests what we've suspected for years is right: YouTube is a pipeline for extremism and hate.
How do we know that? More than 330,000 videos on nearly 350 YouTube channels were analyzed and manually classified according to a system designed by the Anti-Defamation League. They were labeled as either media (or what we think of as factual news), "alt-lite" intellectual dark web, or alt-right.
[...] The alt-right is what's traditionally associated with white supremacy, pushing for a white ethnostate. Those who affiliate with the "intellectual dark web" justify white supremacy on the basis of eugenics and "race science." Members of the alt-lite purport to not support white supremacy, though they believe in conspiracy theories about "replacement" by minority groups.
[...] The study's authors hypothesized that the alt-lite and intellectual dark web often serve as a gateway to more extreme, far-right ideologies. So they tested that by tracing the authors of 72 million comments on about two million videos between May and July of last year. The results were worrying. More than 26% of people who commented on alt-lite videos tended to drift over to alt-right videos and subsequently comment there.
[...] The team, from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne, also found evidence that the overlap between alt-righters and others who dabble in intellectual dark web and alt-lite material is growing. The authors estimate that about 60,000 people who commented on alt-lite or intellectual dark web content got exposed to alt-right videos over a period of about 18 months. The work was presented at the 2020 Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency in Barcelona this week.
In a statement, YouTube said it's working through these issues: "Over the past few years ... We changed our search and discovery algorithms to ensure more authoritative content is surfaced and labeled prominently in search results and recommendations and begun reducing recommendations of borderline content and videos that could misinform users in harmful ways."
A spokesperson added that YouTube disputes the methodology and that it doesn't take into account more recent updates to its hate speech policy or recommendations. "We strongly disagree with the methodology, data and, most importantly, the conclusions made in this new research," the spokesperson said.
(Score: 0, Troll) by NPC-131072 on Friday January 31 2020, @09:20PM (7 children)
When we get rid of the Intellectual Dark Web and bring about communism we can finish the job and get rid of all problematic intellectuals. Eventually there will only be Aristarchus and myself left.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 31 2020, @09:48PM (1 child)
Why you gotta go boot stomping on your own community? Did the dark web do naughty things to you?
The Achilles heel of all bigots is that they are emotionally compromised into believing nonsense, and somewhere along the thread of any conversation you'll get to the point where you realize the person you're arguing with is just a hysterical chicken little with massive insecurities do to being socially ostracized.
Part of why they band together online, gotta have those safe spaces! As usual their insults come back on them.
(Score: 2, Informative) by NPC-131072 on Saturday February 01 2020, @01:43AM
Aristarchus is a SN hero, that is no way to talk about him. Shame on you.
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Friday January 31 2020, @11:16PM (4 children)
Your "satire" doesn't work. Good satire requires an element of subtlety; it should make someone invoke Poe's Law ("...is this the real deal or someone faking it? I really cannot tell.").
In your case? It's plainly obvious you're trying, and failing, to do satire. What you're actually doing is strawmanning, with a good deal of projection thrown in.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: -1, Troll) by NPC-131072 on Saturday February 01 2020, @01:50AM (3 children)
You should have taken the L a long time ago honey. What is "satire" and "projection" other than you being a TERF and refusing to acknowledge your longing for girl-cock? Jesus on a massive fucking symbian - just how desperate are you?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 01 2020, @07:21PM
You know the troll got twiggy when it falls back on pure venom. Not even trying bruh?
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Sunday February 02 2020, @12:15AM (1 child)
LOL, I didn't even see this till now. Man are you ever desperate! That is the single most childish, low-energy tactic you could possibly have chosen...and it also has me wondering how many times the string "futanari" shows up in your web search history :) Looks like I've got you on the ropes.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 1) by NPC-131072 on Sunday February 02 2020, @12:45AM
I identify as black, save your noose for yourself.