NEW YORK: A new study found that YouTube's recommendations sent violent and graphic gun videos to children as young as nine years old. Many of the videos violate the platform's own policies against violent or gory content.
In a study to understand the connection between YouTube videos and gun violence, researchers at a non-profit US group that studies social media, set up accounts on the platform that mimicked the behaviour of typical American boys, Xinhua quoted The Associated Press on Wednesday.
Researchers simulated two nine-year-olds who both liked video games. The accounts were identical, except that one clicked on the videos recommended by YouTube, and the other ignored the platform's suggestions, said the report.
The account that clicked on YouTube's suggestions was soon flooded with graphic videos about school shootings, tactical gun training videos and instructions on making firearms fully automatic.
The findings show that despite YouTube’s rules and content moderation efforts, “the platform is failing to stop the spread of frightening videos that could traumatise vulnerable children or send them down dark roads of extremism and violence,“ the report added. -Bernama
