this post was submitted on 05 May 2026
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It has to be on purpose. I have to clear out history and watch to try and normalize. I think Shane Gillis is a gateway
Not necessary true. I have my watch history off, been off for years. A couple days ago they took away recommended videos from its home page. I toggle watch history to get recommended back, and I got the same thing. Tons of chud content.
I really don't think it's "on purpose" trying to push a narrative. I think it's "on purpose" the algorithm sees that displaying videos #9342 and #667 to new audiences tends to result in the new viewer watching more videos over time.
It's incidental that those videos are bad for society. If human behavior taught the algorithm high quality educational videos keeps audiences engaged longer this would be a non-issue.
Deciding to upkeep an algorithm knowing it does that is purposeful tho? The purpose of the system is what it does
The purpose of a system is the desired outcome. Other results are byproducts. The designed purpose is user engagement. The byproduct is the harm to society.
The purpose of a sewer system is to remove waste water from homes. The byproduct can be the smell coming from storm drains. You wouldn't say the purpose of a sewer system is to make storm drains smell.
It’s rage-gagement, pure and simple. Outrage driven engagement makes the most profit; it’s similar to the pattern of online reviews: people are way more likely to leave a bad review than a good one and the same goes for nearly every interaction one can have on YouTube.