7 ms·

YouTube is the most popular website on the internet for regular (i.e. non-rich) people to participate in the public political debate by posting/watching videos.

YouTube is the most popular website on the internet for regular (i.e. non-rich) people to participate in the public political debate by posting/watching videos. This means banning regular people from it substantially reduces their ability to meaningfully participate in the public political debate. When people can't peacefully advocate for their interests, they do so violently. We don't want real world violence, so it's probably not a great idea to give YouTube carte blanche to decide who can meaningfully participate in the public political debate.

root_axis 7y ago
YouTube is just not that important. It's not some type of important political fixture, it's pretty universally regarded as a cesspool with regard to political discussion and most of the content is non-political anyway.
- HBKXNCUO 7y ago
  What exactly do you mean by "not that important"? Is it your position that if, say, YouTube took down all content that was in favor of Democrats, and pushed content that was in favor of Republicans to the front page, and put it all over recommendations, that there would be no impact to elections?
  - root_axis 7y ago
    The impact would be negligible, not only because the YouTube demographic skews very young (i.e. people who don't vote), but also because most of the content on YouTube is not political content. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most-subscribed_YouTube_channels https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most-subscribed_YouTub... None of the top channels are political. Do you have any evidence to support the idea that YouTube is so important to politics that the government should step in to regulate it?
    - HBKXNCUO 7y ago
      >The impact would be negligible, not only because the YouTube demographic skews very young (i.e. people who don't vote) Young people eventually grow up to vote. Are you suggesting that their impressionable young minds are uninfluenced by what they see on YouTube? >but also because most of the content on YouTube is not political content. OK, but there is still a whole lot of political content on there. >https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most-subscribed_YouTub.. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most-subscribed_YouTub.... The second to most subscribed channel is not political as its main function, but there is most definitely political content on there. >Do you have any evidence to support the idea that YouTube is so important to politics that the government should step in to regulate it? Do you have any evidence to support the idea that people speaking on soapboxes are so important to politics that the government should step in to prevent municipalities from regulating their messages? There are billions of views of political videos on YouTube. It's a place where many millions go to consume political content. People get angry when political content they agree with gets censored.
      - root_axis 7y ago
        > Are you suggesting that their impressionable young minds are uninfluenced by what they see on YouTube? They will be influenced by hundreds of factors, YouTube perhaps among them, but YouTube is not of any particular our outsized importance. > OK, but there is still a whole lot of political content on there. And? Political content exists on the bathroom stall as well, that doesn't mean it's important. > The second to most subscribed channel is not political as its main function, but there is most definitely political content on there. PewDiePie is not a political channel and is completely irrelevant with regard to politics. > Do you have any evidence to support the idea that people speaking on soapboxes are so important to politics that the government should step in to prevent municipalities from regulating their messages? What?
        HBKXNCUO 7y ago
        >They will be influenced by hundreds of factors, YouTube perhaps among them, but YouTube is not of any particular our outsized importance. Outsized in comparison with what? >And? Political content exists on the bathroom stall as well, that doesn't mean it's important. Political videos on youtube have billions of views. >PewDiePie is not a political channel and is completely irrelevant with regard to politics. Like I said, not the main function of the channel, but there is certainly politically oriented content. Do you think his politically oriented content has no impact on the politics of his ~100 million audience? I believe you're either acting in bad faith on this topic, or are unaware of https://www.newsweek.com/pewdiepie-christchurch-shooting-mosque-meme-subscribe-1365275 https://www.newsweek.com/pewdiepie-christchurch-shooting-mos...

root_axis 7y ago

YouTube is just not that important. It's not some type of important political fixture, it's pretty universally regarded as a cesspool with regard to political discussion and most of the content is non-political anyway.

HBKXNCUO 7y ago
What exactly do you mean by "not that important"? Is it your position that if, say, YouTube took down all content that was in favor of Democrats, and pushed content that was in favor of Republicans to the front page, and put it all over recommendations, that there would be no impact to elections?
- root_axis 7y ago
  The impact would be negligible, not only because the YouTube demographic skews very young (i.e. people who don't vote), but also because most of the content on YouTube is not political content. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most-subscribed_YouTube_channels https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most-subscribed_YouTub... None of the top channels are political. Do you have any evidence to support the idea that YouTube is so important to politics that the government should step in to regulate it?
  - HBKXNCUO 7y ago
    >The impact would be negligible, not only because the YouTube demographic skews very young (i.e. people who don't vote) Young people eventually grow up to vote. Are you suggesting that their impressionable young minds are uninfluenced by what they see on YouTube? >but also because most of the content on YouTube is not political content. OK, but there is still a whole lot of political content on there. >https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most-subscribed_YouTub.. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most-subscribed_YouTub.... The second to most subscribed channel is not political as its main function, but there is most definitely political content on there. >Do you have any evidence to support the idea that YouTube is so important to politics that the government should step in to regulate it? Do you have any evidence to support the idea that people speaking on soapboxes are so important to politics that the government should step in to prevent municipalities from regulating their messages? There are billions of views of political videos on YouTube. It's a place where many millions go to consume political content. People get angry when political content they agree with gets censored.
    - root_axis 7y ago
      > Are you suggesting that their impressionable young minds are uninfluenced by what they see on YouTube? They will be influenced by hundreds of factors, YouTube perhaps among them, but YouTube is not of any particular our outsized importance. > OK, but there is still a whole lot of political content on there. And? Political content exists on the bathroom stall as well, that doesn't mean it's important. > The second to most subscribed channel is not political as its main function, but there is most definitely political content on there. PewDiePie is not a political channel and is completely irrelevant with regard to politics. > Do you have any evidence to support the idea that people speaking on soapboxes are so important to politics that the government should step in to prevent municipalities from regulating their messages? What?
      - HBKXNCUO 7y ago
        >They will be influenced by hundreds of factors, YouTube perhaps among them, but YouTube is not of any particular our outsized importance. Outsized in comparison with what? >And? Political content exists on the bathroom stall as well, that doesn't mean it's important. Political videos on youtube have billions of views. >PewDiePie is not a political channel and is completely irrelevant with regard to politics. Like I said, not the main function of the channel, but there is certainly politically oriented content. Do you think his politically oriented content has no impact on the politics of his ~100 million audience? I believe you're either acting in bad faith on this topic, or are unaware of https://www.newsweek.com/pewdiepie-christchurch-shooting-mosque-meme-subscribe-1365275 https://www.newsweek.com/pewdiepie-christchurch-shooting-mos...