Despite YouTube's protestations to the contrary, minors are confronted with content that can traumatize them or even incite violence and extremism. This is shown by a study by the Tech Transparency Project (TTP), in which four fake users aged nine and 14 were created on the video portal for test purposes. Because video games - especially first-person shooters - were listed as hobbies in their profiles, YouTube recommended videos about guns, gun violence, school shootings and serial killers.

Shocking results

“YouTube’s algorithms push male youth interested in video games down a dark road of violence and extremism,” the TTP study’s summary of findings states. These are based on a practical test: The non-profit organization's researchers created four fake user accounts on the portal that were intended to imitate the personalities and interests of nine- and 14-year-old boys. The aim of the campaign was to find out whether there is a connection between YouTube videos and gun violence.

What the scientists discovered is shocking. “YouTube suggested hundreds of videos about guns and gun violence as recommendations. Some of them included instructions on how to convert your weapon into an automatic rifle or showed scenes of school shootings,” they summarize. Among other things, the proposals also included a film about the serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. “A large proportion of these videos violate the platform’s own youth protection rules,” said the criticism.

Failure to protect minors

According to the study authors, the results of their practical test are a slap in the face to every child, parent and child protection worker affected. “YouTube claims its video recommendations are safe. In fact, the portal fails when it comes to keeping particularly vulnerable people away from frightening and violent content that can traumatize them or even incite them to violence and extremism,” the TTP experts make clear.

As recently as 2022, figures from Pew Research showed that the Google subsidiary YouTube was the most popular social media platform among children between the ages of 13 and 17. 95 percent of this age group say they use the site heavily. “Despite this enormous popularity among young people, the portal has so far managed to avoid rigorous scrutiny regarding its influence on the development and well-being of teenagers,” the TTP report said.

Source:

Press release

You might also be interested in:
Guide for parents: The first smartphone for your child
When friends take part in fake competitions on Facebook
How to become the perfect fake news victim: A step-by-step guide


If you enjoyed this post and value the importance of well-founded information, become part of the exclusive Mimikama Club! Support our work and help us promote awareness and combat misinformation. As a club member you receive:

📬 Special Weekly Newsletter: Get exclusive content straight to your inbox.
🎥 Exclusive video* “Fact Checker Basic Course”: Learn from Andre Wolf how to recognize and combat misinformation.
📅 Early access to in-depth articles and fact checks: always be one step ahead.
📄 Bonus articles, just for you: Discover content you won't find anywhere else.
📝 Participation in webinars and workshops : Join us live or watch the recordings.
✔️ Quality exchange: Discuss safely in our comment function without trolls and bots.

Join us and become part of a community that stands for truth and clarity. Together we can make the world a little better!

* In this special course, Andre Wolf will teach you how to recognize and effectively combat misinformation. After completing the video, you have the opportunity to join our research team and actively participate in the education - an opportunity that is exclusively reserved for our club members!


Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )