My parents are both in the far-right misinformation gutter on Youtube, Tiktok, Instagram, and maybe some other apps I don’t know about. I had the idea recently to try and surreptitiously deradicalize their algorithms by logging into their accounts and watching content that’ll steer them towards credible information, but I’m not entirely sure what the best approach is. I know that if their feeds suddenly become left-leaning, they’re going to notice something is up. They might even think the platform is trying to do a DEI on them, and may try switching to Truth Social.
Does anyone know if there are resources out there explaining how to do something like this? I’m sure I’m not the first person to have this idea. I don’t use any of these sites/apps myself, so I don’t feel like I know them enough to come up with a solid plan. I don’t wanna fuck it up lol
Do they have a YT account?
If they do, you can curate their watch history.
I do it myself and it is highly effective, I have a pretty narrow field that I am interested in when watching youtube, mostly odd history, but also retro tech and travel challenges.
That is what I want to get recommended to me, but I also watch videos from outside that field as I find them interesting as well.
Recently I have been watching Robot Chicken videos on YT, but I don’t really want to have them recommended to me, so I remove them from my watch history, and bam, they are gone from my recommendations!
In this case, if you have access to their YT account you can do this in the background, you can watch interesting, neutral videos to add them to their algorithm, then slowly start removing some of their watch history over months.
I don’t see this as immoral, YT is already weaponizing the algorithm, and has done so for a LONG time, now it is our turn to do so as well.
Anyone arguing to the contrary would’ve likely been a doctor in the 50s, smoking a pack a day in the ER…