Combating radicalization by algorithm
September 14, 2024
Many countries have formulated strategies to combat radicalization, and regulating and monitoring recommendations on social network platforms is part of these strategies. This article explores the concept of radicalization and the proposed causal link between recommendations and radicalization, highlighting some of the key characteristics of recommendation engines. Based on this background potential risk mitigation measures ...
Content-Sharing Algorithms, Processes, and Positive Interventions Working Group: Part 1: Content-Sharing Algorithms & Processes
September 18, 2023
In setting out the work program for the past 12 months, the group’s shared objective was to collaborate across industry, government, and civil society “to map content-sharing algorithms and processes used by industry that may facilitate consumption of content that may increase user interest in or amplify terrorist and violent extremist content and consider positive ...
Content-Sharing Algorithms, Processes, and Positive Interventions Working Group: Part 2: Positive Interventions
September 18, 2023
In setting out the work program for the past 12 months, the shared objective of the group was to collaborate across industry, government, and civil society “to map contentsharing algorithms and processes used by industry that may facilitate consumption of content that may increase user interest in or amplify terrorist and violent extremist content and ...
Examining the interactive effects of the filter bubble and the echo chamber on radicalization
September 18, 2023
Objectives Despite popular notions of “filter bubbles” and “echo chambers” contributing to radicalization, little evidence exists to support these hypotheses. However, social structure social learning theory would suggest a hereto untested interaction effect. Methodology An RCT of new Twitter users in which participants were randomly assigned to a treatment of “filter bubble” (personalization algorithm) suppression. ...
YouTube Regrets: A crowdsourced investigation into YouTube’s recommendation algorithm
September 18, 2023
Faced with YouTube’s continuous refusal to engage, Mozilla built a browser extension, RegretsReporter, that allows people to donate data about the YouTube videos they regret watching on the platform. Through one of the biggest crowdsourced investigations into YouTube, we’ve uncovered new information that warrants urgent attention and action from lawmakers and the public. We now ...
Recommender systems and the amplification of extremist content
September 18, 2023
Policymakers have recently expressed concerns over the role of recommendation algorithms and their role in forming “filter bubbles”. This is a particularly prescient concern in the context of extremist content online; these algorithms may promote extremist content at the expense of more moderate voices. In this article, we make two contributions to this debate. Firstly, ...