Quote:YouTube’s algorithm frequently recommends right-leaning and Christian videos to users who have not previously shown interest in those topics, according to new research released Tuesday.
The Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a London-based think tank studying extremism, conducted four investigations using personas with different interests to examine YouTube’s algorithm.
Despite varying interests — from gaming, male lifestyle gurus, mommy vloggers and Spanish-language news — videos with religious themes were shown to all the accounts.
“The ubiquity of these videos across investigations, as well as the fact that almost all the videos were related to Christianity, raises questions as to why YouTube recommends such content to users and whether this is a feature of the platform’s recommendation system,” the report noted.
The accounts interested in mommy vloggers and Spanish-language news received more religious content than the others, which the report suggested could reflect that those groups “tend to be more interested in religion.”
The think tank’s investigation also split the accounts interested in mommy vlogger-content based on political leaning, with one right-leaning account watching Fox News videos and one left-leaning account watching MSNBC videos.
https://thehill.com/policy/technology/47...an-videos/
I have to say that I haven't noticed this myself. I mostly view history and music documentaries or discussion channels, and that is virtually the total of the recommendations, too.