Study: YouTube's Algorithm Leads Young Gamers to Gun Violence Content

YouTube's recommendation system continues to steer young video game players toward violent and dangerous material, according to an alarming study.

Using social media research, the Tech Transparency Project, a nonprofit group, investigated the link between YouTube videos and gun violence, PBS reported. To do this, they created user profiles on the site that replicated the internet habits of common boys living in the United States.

The study's simulations were of two nine-year-olds with a common passion for video games, especially first-person shooters. The accounts were similar, except one clicked on YouTube's suggested videos while the other ignored them.

The account that actively clicked on YouTube's suggestions was flooded with graphic information about school massacres, tactical gun training, and how to turn guns into fully automatic weapons. The content showed an elementary school kid using a weapon and a shooter targeting a fake skull with lifelike blood and brains with a .50-caliber gun, which breaches YouTube's violent and graphic content restrictions.

Katie Paul, the leader of the research group, highlighted that the problem is with YouTube's algorithms rather than with video games in general. She noted that video games are among children's favorite activities, but playing a game like "Call of Duty" doesn't have to lead an individual to a gun store. Instead, YouTube leads people there because of its algorithms.

YouTube's Safeguards For Children Are Not Enough

This study also underlines the pressing need for YouTube to improve its content filtering processes and solve the issues with its recommendation system.

The research reveals that YouTube's platform is unable to stop the distribution of unpleasant videos that might traumatize vulnerable youngsters or lead them to radical thoughts and violence.

The YouTube study also pointed out that there is insufficient evidence to back politicians' statements over the past 20 years associating video games with violent behavior. However, YouTube's recommendation system may expose young boys who play video games to mass shootings and gun violence, per The Guardian.

In reaction to the results, YouTube, owned by Google, said it protects its young users from harmful content. Platform users under 13, including the simulated 9-year-old viewers in the research, must connect their accounts to an age-verified parent's account when making accounts on the popular online platform, according to KPAX 8.