YouTube is great at sending users videos that it thinks they'll like based on their interests. But new research shows that the site's powerful algorithms can also flood young users with violent and disturbing content.
FILE - The YouTube app is displayed on an iPad in Baltimore on March 20, 2018. YouTube is great at sending users videos that it thinks they'll like based on their interests. But new research shows the site's powerful algorithms can also flood young users with violent and disturbing content. The non-profit Tech Transparency Project created YouTube accounts mimicking the behavior of young boys with an interest in first-person shooter games.
WASHINGTON — When researchers at a nonprofit that studies social media wanted to understand the connection between YouTube videos and gun violence, they set up accounts on the platform that mimicked the behavior of typical boys living in the U.S. They simulated two nine-year-olds who both liked video games. The accounts were identical, except that one clicked on the videos recommended by YouTube, and the other ignored the platform’s suggestions.
The account that clicked on YouTube’s suggestions was soon flooded with graphic videos about school shootings, tactical gun training videos and how-to instructions on making firearms fully automatic. One video featured an elementary school-age girl wielding a handgun; another showed a shooter using a .50 caliber gun to fire on a dummy head filled with lifelike blood and brains.
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