this post was submitted on 05 May 2026
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It’s not just Fox. I stumbled into a “default” YouTube algorithm today, and was bombarded with all sorts of, for lack of a better word, podcast bros. Mostly conservative ragebait, though it sampled trash from the whole political spectrum.
Anyway, I just remember glimpses of videos on “what you weren’t taught about Native Americans,” cleanly presented economics, celebrity podcast talks and such basically being “Hey kids! Let’s gently introduce you to White Replacement Theory.” But it’s never explicit; it’s reasonable sounding, professionally presented content building it up by proxy.
…It’s all a machine. In a different life, I could see myself falling into those traps.
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
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.