Fake research groups justify new MSM attacks on "conspiracy theorists" – Gp 3: AlgoTransparency
WaPo article "Hateful Conspiracies Thrive on YouTube despite pledge to clean up problematic videos" cited the following groups and individuals as "researchers":
* Data & Society (Joan Donovan)
* Network Contagion Research Institute
* AlgoTransparency (Guillaume Chaslot) <<< SEE BELOW
* Columbia University Tow Center for Digital Journalism (Jonathan Albright)
ALGOTRANSPARENCY
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Strange website, home page more like an app that generates a list of what YT is likely to recommend for whomever is viewing that page. So the screenshot shown here is for me and more or less captures my viewing habits but also includes widely popular stuff like Gordan Ramsey's Christmas recipes.
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There is no general info on the org from the website as to its purpose, principles, funding or any other introductory stuff. This may be because it seems very European; its founder, Guillaume Chaslot, is affiliated with the "EU DisInfo Lab." See below for bits & pieces gleaned from other sources.
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Focus is on YouTube algorithms ALGO = Algorithm, so this group's focus is on discovering and evaluating the search algorithm used by YT to suggest videos of its users. Outlook is that YT tends to direct users to sites that are attract more users and/or espouse more "extreme" views, leading to the radicalization of users.
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Assumes the MSM is an "authoritative source": A short video entitled "How YouTube Drives People to the Internet's Darkest Corners," it is explained how watching DJT's inaugural address will cause YT's algorithm to suggest videos from sources such as Alex Jones (must be outdated!), the Truth Factory (a fav), and other channels the narrator deems "extreme." He thinks the algorithm should be changed to direct YT viewers to "more authoritative sources" (i.e., the MSM).
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Authoritative sources: according to this group include the NYT, Wired, WaPo, NBC News, Bloomberg, MIT Tech Review, The Guardian, WSJ, New York Magazine, and Vice. AlgoTransparency features articles alerting us to how the YT algorithm directs us to "fake [non-MSM] news," (NBC News), "conspiracy theories" (NBC News), and "propaganda"(Columbia Journalism Review).
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Some of the problems are genuine such as kids being directed towards weird, disturbing content (think Teletubbies on steroids) but in the context of politics, the "weird" stuff is real news from the alternative media about matters the DS doesn't want disclosed and is hence labeled fake.
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"What is AlgoTransparency? search yields more info than their website. A TubeFilter article tells us that Guillaume Chaslot is a former YT engineer who left Google in 2013 to build AlgoTransparency, which tries to show how YT's recommendation algorithm works. https://www.tubefilter.com/2018/04/12/youtube-recommendation-algorithm-algo-transparency/. Product Hunt provides more general info (see screenshots), including links that reveal the names of key players. https://www.producthunt.com/posts/algotransparency
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Guillaume Chaslot is also associated with Bayes Impact, the Center for Humane Technology & the EU DisInfo Lab; was previously at Etalab, Google and Microsoft. Education: PhD in computer science (Maastricht University?). French; thick accent. See the video "AI's collateral damage" panel discussion from MozFest, 10-29-18. Chaslot says algorithms are optimized for "watchtime" not "diversity." Conference program says he "analyzes how…AI contributes to the spread of disinformation." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=503Yup0wpIk
The DIGG so far:
Source article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/hateful-conspiracies-thrive-on-youtube-despite-pledge-to-clean-up-problematic-videos/2018/12/10/625730a8-f3f8-11e8-9240-e8028a62c722_story.html?
>>4283805 From WaPo: "Hateful Conspiracies Thrive on YouTube" Call for a DIGG
>>4303851 Fake research groups justify new MSM attacks on "conspiracy theorists" : Group 1: DATA & SOCIETY
>>4319183 Dig on Fake research groups justify new MSM attacks on "conspiracy theorists" con't. [Group 2: NETWORK CONTAGION RESEARCH INSTITUTE]