YouTube’s recommendation algorithm may be suggesting climate misinformation videos

NGO Avaaz released a report this month on how YouTube algorithms seem to be driving users to watch climate misinformation videos. Avaaz examined the videos that the platform recommends when users search for terms related to climate such as ‘global warming’ or ‘climate change’. They found that over 20% of the top 100 videos related to the search term ‘global warming’ were misinformation videos. Furthermore, Avaaz found that large global companies are deepening the issue by advertising on these videos. In response, a YouTube spokesperson declared that they have invested in reducing harmful content on the platform and that their ‘recommendations systems are not designed to filter or demote videos or channels based on specific perspectives’.