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 730

Examining the consumption of radical content on YouTube

Exhibit 730 ยท Peer-reviewed study

Examining the consumption of radical content on YouTube

We find little evidence that the YouTube recommendation algorithm is driving attention to this content.

User-trajectory data across the political spectrum, 2016-2019.

Source
Hosseinmardi, Ghasemian, Clauset, Mobius, Rothschild, Watts (PNAS)
Date
2 August 2021
Quoted from
Significance statement
Grade
Peer-reviewed
Document
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2101967118
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.