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Would that not be based on the fact that, that content is somehow generating less revenue? Or you believe there is a more sinister reason?

tobr 6y ago
Videos with titles with certain words might be flagged and can’t have ads. As I understand it they’re trying to prevent pornographic content from being monetized, and their list of dirty words include neutral LGBTQ+ terms like “gay” and “lesbian”. This has been verified by experiments where people upload the same video with different titles. [1] So it’s yet another opaque system that might not have a sinister intention, but has a pretty sinister outcome. 1: https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/10/10/20893258/youtube-lgbtq-censorship-demonetization-nerd-city-algorithm-report https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/10/10/20893258/youtube-lgbt...
- Nasrudith 6y ago
  Reminds me of another case of the opposite with Xbox Live where "gay" and "lesbian" were being censored to try to prevent the then prevalent use as a term of abuse. To be frank to me the algorithim seems to be a scapegoat for society's own fucked up norms and practices. It isn't a moral process and expecting it to act like one isn't reasonable - it would be like demanding a cargo value calculator stop listing concentrated drugs as the most profitable commodity by to transport per mass and volume because addiction ruin lives and overdose ends them. It is terrible but it is accurately describing the status quo.
blaser-waffle 6y ago
Off the top of my head, reasons could be: - LBGTQ populations are small, about 4-7% (usually quoted at 5%) of the US, and are generally clustered in big urban areas. Like, if you're a queer kid in rural TN you're moving or Nashville or NYC otherwise you gonna have bad time. But that also means it's a niche demographic that's in a few areas. That's a big deal if I'm buying ads for Miami or Denver or The Castro, but it's not broad appeal across the country. - LBGTQ isn't uniform in context and content; not a ton of lesbians are into boy-meets-boy stories, and not a lot of gay men are watching videos about Andrea Dworkin and S.C.U.M. - Not a lot of crossover appeal -- I know a few straight bourgeoisie white ladies that are all about queer culture, trying hard to be allies and all, but other than that there is little crossover. Even my wokest, Bernie-Sanders loving friends aren't watching LBGTQ vids and related content on the regular. Again, it's niche thing. - Serious flak from conservatives, be they Christian, Muslim, or Hindu, or a Communist Chinese government that's not especially LBGTQ-friendly. I can post e-sports videos that will garner millions of views, from Pakistan to China to Nigeria, but a queer critique of Harry Potter or League of Legends characters might be flagged or banned in most of those countries. There may be aggressive pushback and demonetization as well via lobbyists or religious groups. - As another poster said, flagging words like "gay" or "lesbian" as pornographic and blocking or demonetizing them accordingly.

tobr 6y ago

Videos with titles with certain words might be flagged and can’t have ads. As I understand it they’re trying to prevent pornographic content from being monetized, and their list of dirty words include neutral LGBTQ+ terms like “gay” and “lesbian”. This has been verified by experiments where people upload the same video with different titles. [1] So it’s yet another opaque system that might not have a sinister intention, but has a pretty sinister outcome. 1: https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/10/10/20893258/youtube-lgbtq-censorship-demonetization-nerd-city-algorithm-report https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/10/10/20893258/youtube-lgbt...

Nasrudith 6y ago
Reminds me of another case of the opposite with Xbox Live where "gay" and "lesbian" were being censored to try to prevent the then prevalent use as a term of abuse. To be frank to me the algorithim seems to be a scapegoat for society's own fucked up norms and practices. It isn't a moral process and expecting it to act like one isn't reasonable - it would be like demanding a cargo value calculator stop listing concentrated drugs as the most profitable commodity by to transport per mass and volume because addiction ruin lives and overdose ends them. It is terrible but it is accurately describing the status quo.

blaser-waffle 6y ago

Off the top of my head, reasons could be: - LBGTQ populations are small, about 4-7% (usually quoted at 5%) of the US, and are generally clustered in big urban areas. Like, if you're a queer kid in rural TN you're moving or Nashville or NYC otherwise you gonna have bad time. But that also means it's a niche demographic that's in a few areas. That's a big deal if I'm buying ads for Miami or Denver or The Castro, but it's not broad appeal across the country. - LBGTQ isn't uniform in context and content; not a ton of lesbians are into boy-meets-boy stories, and not a lot of gay men are watching videos about Andrea Dworkin and S.C.U.M. - Not a lot of crossover appeal -- I know a few straight bourgeoisie white ladies that are all about queer culture, trying hard to be allies and all, but other than that there is little crossover. Even my wokest, Bernie-Sanders loving friends aren't watching LBGTQ vids and related content on the regular. Again, it's niche thing. - Serious flak from conservatives, be they Christian, Muslim, or Hindu, or a Communist Chinese government that's not especially LBGTQ-friendly. I can post e-sports videos that will garner millions of views, from Pakistan to China to Nigeria, but a queer critique of Harry Potter or League of Legends characters might be flagged or banned in most of those countries. There may be aggressive pushback and demonetization as well via lobbyists or religious groups. - As another poster said, flagging words like "gay" or "lesbian" as pornographic and blocking or demonetizing them accordingly.