Almost every service has a machine learning recommendation system. It helps people read articles, listen to music and watch videos that interest them most. Google has been making changes to the YouTube recommendation algorithm for several years and is not going to stop. The developers have already reduced the number of recommendations with clickbait titles, and now they intend to clear the feed from videos on conspiracy topics.
In 2019, YouTube users will less likely to stumble upon videos about the theories of the flat earth, miracle cures that cure any disease, and “exposing” high-profile disasters like the September 11 attacks. It is noteworthy that these videos make up only 1% of the total content of the service, but the developers are confident that users will still feel the difference in the quality of recommendations.
Hiding a video from the list of recommendations, of course, does not mean removing the video from search results. The company supports free speech and does not remove videos that meet the rules of the service - lovers of conspiracy theories can find videos of interest in the search or see in the recommendations of the corresponding channels.
The updated recommendation system will be rolled out gradually and only a limited number of US users will receive it initially. As soon as the system shows its effectiveness, the update will affect more countries.
Google is very committed to making YouTube meet all user needs and be available worldwide. For developing regions with slow Internet connections, the company even released a special YouTube Go client that allows you to save videos to the device's memory.
Ramis Ganiev
