YouTube: Users will see fewer conspiracy videos as a recommendation
YouTube says it will improve its recommendation system so that users are less likely to see recommendations based on their preferences for conspiracy theories videos.
YouTube says it wants to limit the distribution of content that doesn’t directly break the rules, but comes close. To achieve that, YouTube says users on the platform are less likely to see recommendations of content that pushes the boundaries. This includes mostly disinformation content, such as videos promoting a fake cure for a serious disease, videos claiming that the Earth is flat, or videos that “blatantly make false claims about historic events like the 9/11 attacks.” . Recently, the BuzzFeed News website found that YouTube’s list of videos playing after the current videos quickly includes unwanted videos.
YouTube reports that this type of content makes up less than one percent of its entire offering and that limiting recommendations for these videos leads to a “better experience for the YouTube community.” The video platform will only adjust the algorithm that is at the basis of making the recommendations; For example, YouTube will not remove the conspiracy videos from the platform as long as they don’t violate the Community Guidelines. That means that such videos can still show up through searches or among users who subscribe to certain channels. YouTube says it strikes a balance between freedom of expression on the platform and the responsibility the company claims to have for its users.
The company has been working on improving the user experience for some time. For example, YouTube announced last year that it wanted to fight disinformation with changes to its news offerings. To achieve this, certain videos about which there is a lot of disinformation are provided with links to, for example, Wikipedia and Encyclopaedia Britannica. In addition, YouTube indicated that it wanted to put more emphasis on ‘authoritative news sources’. The problem of displaying conspiracy theories also appeared to exist with YouTube Kids, Business Insider noted last year.