Networked Conspiracy & Disinformation – Must Read Article from 2018

As we’re in the Christmas break, it’s good to get a bit of time to think about some of the bigger issues. If you’ve followed the blog for a while, you’ll know I have a long standing interest in networked media, indeed my PhD was on this topic. Earlier in the year the issue of how key the networking of our media forms resurfaced for me personally:

I’m far, far from the first one to note the issues of the automated linking of YouTube videos and how they pull watchers towards the lowest common denominator of content, which in turn leads to more and lower.. This article is a must read on the issue looking at how conspiracy thoeries overtake realty on YouTube:

Every time there’s a mass shooting or terror event, due to the subsequent backlash, this YouTube conspiracy genre grows in size and economic value. The search and recommendation algorithms will naturally ensure these videos are connected and thus have more reach.

In other words, due to the increasing depth of the content offerings and ongoing optimization of YouTube’s algorithms, it’s getting harder to counter these types of campaigns with real, factual information.