General Discussion

To be fair, alt-right content is present in all types of medias: short videos, but also tweets, articles, long videos, essays, etc.

The fake Facebook groups created by Russia to antagonize two local groups did not need shorts videos to succeed: https://www.npr.org/2017/11/01/561427876/how-russia-used-facebook-to-organize-two-sets-of-protesters

If you look at Twitter nowadays, the "For you" is going to be more or less what you listed above

Alt-right fuckos have unfortunately been targeting impressionable kids for decades now.

Tiktok is just where the kids are today, a few years ago it was the YouTube alt-right pipeline and before that it was basically just weirdos on 4chan

That's not to say it's not alarming or something to drag your friends away from, but it's not new and it's not going away.

No one rational can possibly support their ideology, so they need to find easily manipulated people to dupe in order to remain relevant.

I've somehow managed to completely miss all of that. I rarely see any right wing content anywhere. I almost never watch videos filmed in portrait rather than landscape. Maybe that has saved me?

I agree and I wish I knew how to stop it or counter it for larger numbers of people.

My hot take on this is that the algorithm is working as intended. I don't think there's a secret agenda behind it, and even if there was, it would likely skew left due to the nature of tech companies. The algorithm is simply trying to maximize engagement, and certain kinds of content do that better than others. People might feel like they're being served content they don't like, but I think they’re actually drawn to that content despite not liking. It’s like driving past a car wreck; you know it’s not good, and you might see something you wish you didn’t, but you still look.

I actively block content from my feed using word filters. I’ve decided I no longer want to see posts about certain things, so I block them. However, every now and then, a post on one of these topics manages to evade my content filters. And what do I do? I click on it and make a comment, getting myself into hot water again. I know I shouldn’t, and I’ve even taken active steps to stop myself, but I still do.

Homie clicking alt right stuff.

I should be targeted, based on demographics. I don't see any of this shit. Don't click the bait. We learned this in the 90s.

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Pretty sure short form content, broadly, fucks people up, and fucked up people are prime targets for conservative bullshit.

I'm worried about short form video because it sucks.

Greedy rich distracting us with culture war to avoid a class war. Russia, China, North Korea trying to sow discord. Conclusion: Make lying illegal. Tax billionaires to extinction to avoid societal collapse.

I'm guessing the content offering algorithms are looking at your IP, browser profile, etc. and throwing stuff at you that it assumes you and "people in your area" want to see. Even with brand new accounts, they always try to figure this stuff out. It often gets it wrong, but that never stops them from trying.

Despite me having maybe a bit too much freedom on the internet when I was younger, I never fell down that hole. Even though many openings presented themselves, I always avoided them due to reasons that I then could not describe. I doubt that many others also had the same experience.

But then again, Reddit was really the only social media that I properly interacted with. I did also have a nice and fat dose of YouTube, but I (thankfully) never watched the kinds of videos that you speak of, I found them appalling.

I've only ever really heard of what you describe, as I don't really talk much with people who hate my guts. But by now I've heard of it so much I don't think that it's an exaggeration anymore. I can only hope that those affected by it eventually free themselves, even if much later in life. Mindless hatred hurts everybody, including the hater.

Out of curiosity do you see similar results without the VPN? A well known VPN provider might already be flagged to show certain types of content.

Of course that's all secondary since this is a problem with most of these services (and not just short form content). I don't see a situation where we can ensure people don't see this sort of content. Plus it would be impossible to properly categorize "good" vs "bad". I think you've just got to make sure that the opposing content is available and that friends/family can help direct people. People who found their way in need to find their way out, but they can have help.

I think the entire concept is damaging, regardless of who is on there. It's all one giant marketing engine. People aren't making those videos because they love it. They're making those videos because they're hoping to become financially successful doing it, which means selling out and shilling for products, which happens all the time in those videos. It's a less obvious form of advertising, and it has a strong sway over people.

I didn't read this post because it is way too long. Please make a short ten to twenty second video summering your points but make sure it's also funny or I'll get bored and swipe.

Offtopic but this reminds me of a Shorts channel I randomly subscribed to, and then I see him posting a video criticising Hollywood's casting.

it's a problem that normal, responsible adults immediatly know these apps are problematic or at least a waste of time. this creates a loop making them more problematic and shitty every iteration.

I don't care about any of that shit. People will find things they want to. I just want to have places free of bullshit or really just configurable enough that I can block the bullshit