The Lacuna Project

lacuna (n.) a gap in a record where something should be

Independent research. Not affiliated with any government, agency, or company.

Exhibit 731

Subscriptions and external links help drive resentful users to alternative and extremist YouTube channels

Exhibit 731 · Peer-reviewed study

Subscriptions and external links help drive resentful users to alternative and extremist YouTube channels

YouTube’s algorithms were not sending people down “rabbit holes” during our observation window in 2020

Paired behavioral and survey data, n = 1,181, 2020.

Source
Chen, Nyhan, Reifler, Robertson, Wilson (Science Advances)
Date
September 2023
Quoted from
Abstract
Grade
Peer-reviewed
Document
https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.add8080
Accessed
2026-11-09
Cited by
Findings citing this exhibit

Cited by

Finding POL-3.10
Peer-reviewed Two peer-reviewed studies of YouTube found little evidence that its recommendation algorithm drove attention to radical content, and found that exposure to alternative and extremist channels came through subscriptions and external links among users who already held high levels of resentment.