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Senator Warns YouTube Algorithm May Be Open To Manipulation By 'Bad Actors' (theguardian.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: The top-ranking Democrat on the Senate intelligence committee has warned that YouTube's powerful recommendation algorithm may be "optimizing for outrageous, salacious and often fraudulent content" or susceptible to "manipulation by bad actors, including foreign intelligence entities." Senator Mark Warner, of Virginia, made the stark warning after an investigation by the Guardian found that the Google-owned video platform was systematically promoting divisive and conspiratorial videos that were damaging to Hillary Clinton's campaign in the months leading up to the 2016 election.
"Companies like YouTube have immense power and influence in shaping the media and content that users see," Warner said. "I've been increasingly concerned that the recommendation engine algorithms behind platforms like YouTube are, at best, intrinsically flawed in optimizing for outrageous, salacious and often fraudulent content." He added: "At worst, they can be highly susceptible to gaming and manipulation by bad actors, including foreign intelligence entities." YouTube's algorithm determines which videos to promote in the "Up next" column beside the video player. The Guardian found that "the algorithm was six times more likely to recommend videos that was damaging to Clinton than Trump, and also tended to amplify wild conspiracy theories about the former secretary of state."
"Companies like YouTube have immense power and influence in shaping the media and content that users see," Warner said. "I've been increasingly concerned that the recommendation engine algorithms behind platforms like YouTube are, at best, intrinsically flawed in optimizing for outrageous, salacious and often fraudulent content." He added: "At worst, they can be highly susceptible to gaming and manipulation by bad actors, including foreign intelligence entities." YouTube's algorithm determines which videos to promote in the "Up next" column beside the video player. The Guardian found that "the algorithm was six times more likely to recommend videos that was damaging to Clinton than Trump, and also tended to amplify wild conspiracy theories about the former secretary of state."
Ok the Republicans said the same about Democratic videos popping up against Trump. So which is real? Can we can the # of times that pro-Trump and pro-Hillary videos actually ran and unique views by person? We never will because it would reveal too much about Google's algorithms.
You say things that offend me and I can deal with it. Can you?
I'm really getting tired of hearing about how Facebook, YouTube, or any other form of social media is "manipulating the masses". Social Media is supposed to be entertainment, not a fucking source of news, facts, and shit you use to guide you in your life's decisions.
I think we should give up on trying to fix Stupid. Find a way to quarantine it off or something. Colonize a new country of citizens that still believe in common sense, rational thought, and intelligent discourse. One thing is for certain; if we continue to monetize and reward stupidity, you can expect the devolution to continue.
Are there more anti-Clinton videos than anti-Trump videos on YouTube? If so, most Bayesian methods will recommend you an anti-Clinton video... unless if you apply a completely partisan bias that enforces equal time for both sides (or even mute out the other side).
In my opinion, the reason there are more anti-Clinton videos on YouTube is simply because there are just too many people who can't find their views represented in the mainstream media. So, if the mainstream media will just stop calling everyone who doesn't echo their agenda an "alt-right", and instead, reason with them, the videos will most likely just go away.
Today Democrats still have close to the entire mainstream media firmly behind their narrative, and Colbert's show is still the most viewed on YouTube. So why the paranoia?
Remember, strike out their voices, and they will become powerful than you could possibly imagine.
Since it appears we have reached the point where too many Americans believe things like Hillary is running a child sex slave ring on Mars I'd just like to say it's been fun but I think we are well and truly fucked at this point.
This is really just another "failure" like Tey where the problem is just that it is a reflection of how people want to use the technology. The algorithm is "failing" because divisiveness, tribalism, hatred, not challenging people to think and a deep seated pride in willful ignorance fuled by confidence in whatever you believe is real is what the free market wants because that's what people want. The real bad actors are those that don't teach people to think critically from a young age, if you don't know what's real it's not even possible to act in your own self interest - people make choices they never would have if they only had a clear understanding of reality.
There's a difference between having your own opinions and discussing facts about a political issue on a website and outright lying - particularly when the liars are being funded by a foreign government with a particular fondness for vodka.
There is a key difference in what the Russians were able to accomplish in the last American Presidential election and what the US has been able to do meddling in the internal affairs of sovereign nations for generations: the vodka drinkers were not that influential.
Outright lying is troublesome, but not for the morality fail so much as for the number of voters who seem unable to make, or care to make, the distinction... as long as it reinforces their world view.
Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.
Ernest Hemingway
Video of Gowdy getting Comey to admit under oath that Clinton lied under oath at least 6 times. We call that perjury and it is ILLEGAL. It was referred to the FBI to bring up charges, but Stroke decided to toss that referral in the trash and not follow up, which is not an exoneration but instead an obstruction of justice by Stroke.
So there you go, outright evidence of Clinton being a criminal.
As Isaac Asimov said, many years ago...
"Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge."
Social media has its place - entertaining, yes but certainly not informing and enlightening.
Sadly, the comfort zone 'bubble' appeals to those of all political and religious persuasions and, far from being 'social', recent system have been ever more divisive.
This is the salient point. The algorithms are customized to the individual, so YouTube, Google, Facebook and other social media platforms are echo chambers.
So when the guardian writes:
One must ask, to who? Who is the user that is getting served up this content, and what have they been doing online?
It would be absolutely stunning if a Google company was an overall net negative to the Clinton campaign. Alphabet (Google parent company) Chairman Eric Schmidt worked closely with the Clinton campaign and created the company "The Groundwork" for the purpose. With deep knowledge of the algorithms used by Google and YouTube and a slew of engineers from the companies, The Groundwork has direct ties into the backend at Google.
Claiming that YouTube was manipulated to shill for Trump (overall) would be like claiming that William Randolph Hurst's papers were shilling against his favored candidates. It just doesn't make any sense at all.
Can you point out three instances where CNN lied? Be specific please.
"There are no sanctuary cities in the US." "The police are full of unstable war veterans." "Trump dumps fish food into koi pond, and will kill all the fish." "Trump sets precedent, takes no questions in China." "Nancy Sinatra is upset over Trump using her father's song"(paraphrased)
Are those good enough? Those are all lies, those were all reported as facts by CNN. I also seem to remember something about 3 reporters getting their asses tossed out as well.
Om, nomnomnom...