YouTube provides the biggest platform for populism (Populisme krijgt op YouTube het grootste podium)

Press/Media: Research

Description

A study covered by the Dutch daily newspaper NRC on the role of YouTube's recommendation algorithm during the Dutch national elections in 2023.

The YouTube algorithm turns out to rewards conflict and commotion, thereby favoring videos from and about populist parties.

Period	15 Jan 2024 → 4 Mar 2024

Title	🤬 politieke beef op je beeldscherm
Media name/outlet	Instagram
Media type	Web
Country/Territory	Netherlands
Date	4/03/24
Description	het algoritme van youtube voert je zomaar video’s van scheldende politici. NRC-journalist @jonaszdekkers schreef een artikel over hoe dat gevolgen kan hebben voor onze democratie. wat is volgens jou de meest salty uitspraak van een politicus?
Producer/Author	Snackpaper
URL	https://www.instagram.com/p/C4IZrwyoGno/
Persons	Roel Lutkenhaus

Title	Populisme krijgt op YouTube het grootste podium
Degree of recognition	National
Media name/outlet	NRC
Media type	Print
Country/Territory	Netherlands
Date	15/01/24
Description	Het YouTube-algoritme beloont conflict en ophef, en speelt daarmee populistische partijen in de kaart. Tijdens de verkiezingen had het algoritme een sterke voorkeur voor video’s over de PVV en Forum voor Democratie, blijkt uit nieuw onderzoek.
Producer/Author	Jonasz Dekkers
URL	https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2024/01/15/populisme-krijgt-op-youtube-het-grootste-podium-a4187022
Persons	Roel Lutkenhaus

Title	When browsing videos about Dutch politics, YouTube mainly recommends video’s with the (radical) right playing the main role
Media name/outlet	Medium
Media type	Web
Country/Territory	Netherlands
Date	15/01/24
Description	YouTube’s video recommendation system is known for tailoring content based on the user base’s viewing habits, and sometimes, it may guide users towards more ideologically extreme content as they continue to browse. Critics argue that this approach feeds viewers content that reinforces their existing beliefs, potentially leading to polarization or even radicalization. However, recent discussions have offered a more nuanced view, and YouTube has implemented measures to mitigate polarization. To understand the impact of these dynamics in the context of Dutch politics, we conducted a study examining how the YouTube algorithm navigated referrals to and from videos of political parties following the Dutch House of Representatives elections in November 2023.
Producer/Author	New Momentum
URL	https://medium.com/@newmomentum/when-browsing-videos-about-dutch-politics-youtube-mainly-recommends-videos-with-the-radical-b2dfff98e23c
Persons	Roel Lutkenhaus