Incident 348: YouTube Recommendation Reportedly Pushed Election Fraud Content to Skeptics Disproportionately

Description: YouTube's recommendation algorithm allegedly pushed 2020's US Presidential Election fraud content to users most skeptical of the election's legitimacy disproportionately compared to least skeptical users.

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Alleged: YouTube developed and deployed an AI system, which harmed YouTube users skeptical of US election results.

Incident Stats

Incident ID
348
Report Count
3
Incident Date
2020-11-01
Editors
Khoa Lam
Election Fraud, YouTube, and Public Perception of the Legitimacy of President Biden
tsjournal.org · 2022

Skepticism about the outcome of the 2020 presidential election in the United States led to a historic attack on the Capitol on January 6th, 2021 and represents one of the greatest challenges to America's democratic institutions in over a ce…

YouTube algorithm pushed election fraud claims to Trump supporters, report says
arstechnica.com · 2022

For years, researchers have suggested that algorithms feeding users content aren't the cause of online echo chambers, but are more likely due to users actively seeking out content that aligns with their beliefs. This week, New York Universi…

Election Fraud, YouTube, and Public Perception of the Legitimacy of President Biden - NYU’s Center for Social Media and Politics
csmapnyu.org · 2022

We find that those most skeptical of the legitimacy of the 2020 election were recommended three times as many election-fraud related videos as were the least skeptical participants.

Abstract

Skepticism about the outcome of the 2020 presiden…

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