3544

Yup.

They create the algorithm, and tune its objectives.

This is the end result of their choices, and was not some inevitable outcome. It was a deliberate choice.

Burn them down and salt the earth around them as an example.

3545

Seriously.

Neither Facebook nor YouTube nor any other platform operator is just watching helplessly as the runaway train of white supremacy and science denial takes over their technology from without.

These things are working as designed.

Now, do I think they’re deliberately pushing evil? Not as such. But if evil drives engagement and daily visits and whatever other sociopathic KPIs, well gosh, that’s just how the society cookie crumbles, eh?

3546

INFRASTRUCTURE WEEK!

3547

The thing is, YouTube’s algorithm… Is good.

I mean, it’s suggested cool stuff to me, that I actually wanted to watch. It’s found all kinds of new stuff for me, that I probably wouldn’t have found on my own.

It doesn’t suggest Nazi videos to me, because I’m not interested in watching Nazi videos.

But I’m not sure that it’s actually their fault that it suggests shitty videos to shitty people.

3548
3549

It depends. If you say, watch some Warhammer 40k stuff, it’s pretty quick that you’ve got Nazis or Nazi-adjacent shit. Of course if you click “don’t show me this, I’m not interested” it tends to go away, but there are a ton of topics that will loop you into far-right shit.

Which is what the alt-right and their ilk have worked to make happen. Get a lot of videos about a lot of things out there and anyone looking at any of those things gets pulled into your gravity. Most people just click shit instead of opting out or knowing what’s going on.

Now do we blame Youtube? I honestly don’t know. Maybe a little, they made the algorithm that’s being exploited and don’t seem to do anything. They’re hosting the shitbirds. But also it’s a pretty good algorithm, as you mention, in a lot of ways so expecting them to burn it all down isn’t reasonable either.

I think most social media problems originate from not enough human beings in the loop at the end of the day. When Facebook’s algorithm detected something wasn’t allowed, I appealed and Facebook told me their algorithm still think it isn’t allowed, I had many choice words for that pile of bullshit.

Edit: For a more extreme example, groups on Facebook will share videos or pictures of cute animals or support the troops type stuff. People respond positively to it. Then those same groups post racist shit and Facebook pipes it right into people’s brains. Turning Point USA does it all the fucking time. Post something everyone agrees with, then once people like it or better yet follow you, start with the racism/hatred of Muslims/whatever. And Facebook just shrugs and rolls around in the money they make off it.

All that said, I’m not convinced having the government dictate things is remotely a solution. Eventually the Trump party will likely be in charge of shit again and they’ll declare facts as misinformation and demand that social media take it down.

3550

Truth. It still doesn’t take you too long to get from watching interviews with The Witcher cast and crew to strident far right racist and misogynist awfulness.

3551

I can even see the path.

Witcher > Yennifer > People complaining about Yennifer in on the show (veiled racism mostly) > racists.

3552

That’s weird… I even watch videos on firearms, or outdoorsman stuff, and I figure that would expose me to stuff like that more than Warhammer… But maybe at some point I told it that I wasn’t interested in the Nazi stuff.

3553

It could also be that you’ve done it long enough that it knows what interests you and doesn’t in that category.
Algorithm: “He enjoys firearms and outdoors stuff without political commentary.”
Algorithm: “He’s watching 40k stuff, maybe he likes racist 40k stuff, lets toss some that way.”

It seems to me it treats most categories as individual things until it figures it all out. The more you watch, the more it “knows” what you like and who you are.

Edit: Also the more racist/fringe stuff tends to be down the page a bit. I have questionable looking videos about the Civil War on my page, for example. But my upper page is mostly just stuff I’m actually interested in at this point.

3554

It has gotten MUCH better in the last few years at discerning the intent of clicks.

In 2016, if you wanted to watch Hillary Clinton do a campaign speech or do a TV interview and typed in “Hillary Clinton”, maybe 2 of the first 50 responses you got were videos of Hillary Clinton that were not Info Wars-style horrible-ness.

3555

Searching for something can still be extremely hit or miss, but yeah usually the top few things are actual news organizations or the like, instead of alt-right nonsense.

Then again Youtube did scour a lot of those fuckers away, hence why the GOP is trying to get rid of the First Amendment so they can force Youtube to give those people a platform again.

3557

I’ve been saying Sinema might be trouble in her primary in 2024. While I think this number might need to be a bit higher for her to be in major trouble, it’s definitely a bad sign.

I think the Dem base (even the moderates) is seeing the filibuster as an existential threat to democracy right now.

3558
3559

Covid going away without a vaccine wasn’t a tough fact/fiction call.

3560

The big difference between the Government and Facebook is that we elect those government officials though, where as CEOs seem to be just huge Asshats (which are not elected, but mandated by God to rule over us, because their wealth shows them to be superior to us normal people).

3561

YouTube has actually made an effort to fix this. It’s not because they have any particular grievance with white supremacy, mind you, it’s because their target audience is children. Children whose parents don’t want MAGA Peppa Pig sneaking into their feed (yes this happened to my kids years ago).

Facebook’s target audience, their top engagers and primary revenue drivers, are white supremacists.

3562

I turned off my Youtube history partly for this reason. I only get recommendations now based on my subscribed channels and google search history.

3563

Bipartisan infrastructure gang has apparently told Schumer that they have 11 votes to proceed to debate on Monday.

A cloture vote today will not succeed. Schumer will reintroduce the bill text before Monday.

3564

You mean that on Monday they say they would have 11 Republicans who will vote to proceed? But they don’t have those votes today?