YouTube has changed its search algorithms to display more reliable and trustworthy sources after the violent attack in Las Vegas saw a spike in misinformation and hateful content appear on the site, reports The Wall Street Journal.
The paper reports that on Tuesday the fifth result shown when a user searches "Las Vegas shooting" showed a video that claimed there were multiple shooters involved (authorities had confirmed there was only one). The video, called "Proof Las Vegas Shooting Was a FALSE FLAG attack—Shooter on 4th Floor," had received 1.1 million views in 27 hours. YouTube removed the video on Wednesday.
A source familiar with YouTube told the WSJ the video streaming site is accelerating the rollout of planned changes to its search engine in response to criticism. YouTube began showing more reliable sources in search results on Wednesday, but hasn’t revealed how it determines which sources are authoritative and which aren’t.
"When it comes to news, we have thousands of news publishers that present a variety of viewpoints,” the company said in an email to the WSJ.
YouTube uses algorithms when ranking videos in search results and in choosing videos to feature on Up Next in the video player. The company had been working on tweaks to its search results for months but implemented the changes earlier than planned, the source said. The source also noted the changes still need work.
YouTube’s parent company Google also faced backlash and was forced to apologize after it featured a 4chan thread that misidentified the shooter in its Top News section. Following the Las Vegas shooting, Facebook’s Safety Check page was also filled with scammers and hoaxes.
Comments
Youtubes parent company is Alphabet not google
By rkarmark on 10.06.17 5:08am
YouTube is owned by Google, which is in turn owned by Alphabet. YouTube is not its own brand under Alphabet. Nest and Fiber are, but YouTube is as much a Google company as Android.
By AB_CD on 10.06.17 5:16am
An article about misinformation and the first comment contains misinformation.
By theOnlyWayIsPluralism on 10.06.17 7:28am
You want to know the crazy part? The idiots who believe the fake news surrounding this event are actually feeling justified in their views by Facebook and Youtube taking the videos down. They literally see this as proof of a cover up. People are idiots, I’m not sure how Youtube can stop them from being gullible.
By Stone Cold Dan Quinn on 10.06.17 7:34am
Indeed, any actions against them embolden them even more. The amount of false flag conspiracies that are being posted and disseminated is discouraging.
By SadPandaWang on 10.06.17 9:31am
I went to high school with these people. Pretty depressing stuff. They believe some nutjob on the internet instantly but question everything the media says.
By Stone Cold Dan Quinn on 10.06.17 9:33am
Think about why that is.
I have a theory about what’s going on now. Enemy agents—whether it’s conspiracy theorists/agent provocateurs like Alex Jones, Julian Assange acolytes, Russian troll farms, wannabe anarchist groups, the Alt Right and other fringe elements—have been embarking on a very methodically planned, carefully coordinated attack on media for the past several years, in order to prop up their propaganda as "real news."
Think about it: isn’t it a tad bit of a coinkydink that after a year of "don’t trust the media/it’s all fake news" memes being planted by troll farms across multiple platforms, we now have seen an explosion of fake news channels on YouTube and the internet? Isn’t strange how all of these fake news channels and sites suddenly sprang up overnight now that we have millions of people convinced that everything they see and hear from the media is staged or faked?
This is why your friends believe any nut job on the internet but not actual news sources. This was all part of a grand scheme that’s been carried out over the course of one, two years by enemy factions of the United States. Plant "fake news" memes to erode the public’s confidence in the media, then when the confidence has been eroded, create fake news/conspiracy sites for the public to turn to for "real news."
This issue is so much deeper and more serious than everyone realizes. The United States is under invasion, except instead of dropping bombs or exploding suicide vests, the invaders are planting memes and trolling to confuse, brainwash and manipulate Americans on the internet. If Congress doesn’t act now, we are going to be in serious, serious trouble.
By NYC Babe on 10.06.17 9:47am
In terms of YouTube, it could just be the algorithm which hasn’t gotten scary good at showing people more content that they might like. Also content that is related by some factor, like conspiracies. These channels were probably small since you had to go looking for them. Then Google Brain gave them fertilizer and water. Now they’re massive with conspiracy nuts going back to YouTube several times a day. Twitter and Facebook are also getting better at this.
There’s a whole portion of the population that probably watch YouTube and read Facebook/Twitter more than they consume any other media. Maybe you’re being ironic, calling the conspiracy love a conspiracy in itself, but truly I think it’s just personalized content advancing.
By Omen_20 on 10.06.17 4:37pm
LOL. Read Chomsky, Manufacturing Consent. The MSM have been shoveling out fake news for decades. The people are finally starting to notice.
Bush could not have lied the country into the Iraq war without the full fraudulent and lying cooperation of the New York Times.
Wake up.
By tunafoo on 10.23.17 1:40am
Those "red pill" people are a joke.
By Disdain on 10.06.17 11:32am
Google and Facebook incompetence and greed already deviated the course of history.
Our safety and destiny are in the hands of these people. A sorry state of things.
By DJ CERLA on 10.06.17 7:49am
Greed, yes, but I don’t see much evidence of incompetence at play. I think the paramount problem is a conflict of interest between a company that thrives on people clicking, viewing, and interacting with content (and the most clicky content being awfulness and scandal) and the broader sociological concerns of not spreading lies and inspiring anger and division.
By vladsavov on 10.06.17 7:54am
You’re right. It’s definitely not incompetence. All of these companies deliberately encouraged the propagation of fake news sites to generate revenue. Last night, I was browsing videos on YouTube about the Las Vegas shootings and the fake news/conspiracy channels not only outnumbered legitimate news sources 2:1, some of them had views in the hundreds of thousands. Given how many views those types of channels are getting and how slow Google is to remove them, I have no doubt that it’s encouraging them to be posted to feed its bottom line.
By NYC Babe on 10.06.17 9:34am
The people’s incompetence and greed already deviated the course of history.
I fixed it for you, further let’s add the people’s ignorance and racism that helped get us where we are.
By SadPandaWang on 10.06.17 9:34am
I started reporting many of those channels last night. I was thinking of also sending tips to all the major news outlets to let them know what Google is doing. I am also thinking of sending a letter to my local Congressman to propose enacting legislation to penalize companies like Google who are actively promoting the propagation of fake news channels and sites on their platforms.
By NYC Babe on 10.06.17 9:24am