YouTube is great at sending users videos that it thinks they'll like based on their interests.
But new research shows the site's powerful algorithms can also flood young users with violent and disturbing content. The non-profit Tech Transparency Project created YouTube accounts mimicking the behavior of young boys with an interest in first-person shooter games.
The account that clicked on YouTube's suggestions was soon flooded with graphic videos about school shootings, tactical gun training videos and how-to instructions on making firearms fully automatic. One video featured an elementary school-age girl wielding a handgun; another showed a shooter using a .50 caliber gun to fire on a dummy head filled with lifelike blood and brains.
The researchers also created accounts mimicking 14-year-old boys; those accounts also received similar levels of gun- and violence-related content.
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