Views via recommendations of such ‘borderline’ videos were halved in similar US trial

YouTube is experimenting with an algorithm change to reduce the spread of what it calls “borderline content” in the UK, after a similar trial in the US resulted in a substantial drop in views.

According to the video sharing site’s chief executive, Susan Wojcicki, the move is intended to give quality content “more of a chance to shine” and has the effect of reducing views from recommendations by 50%.

YouTube has long taken action against content that violates the site’s policies, removing infringing videos and issuing “strikes” against creators that can ultimately result in them being blocked from uploading new videos.

But only recently has the company moved against content that, in Wojcicki’s words, “brushes right up against our policy line”. This sort of content is the bedrock of the fear that YouTube is a driver of extremist views worldwide: the combination of borderline content and a recommendation algorithm that rewards the most engaging content can, critics argue, cause audiences to spiral towards more radical viewing.

YouTube first took action against borderline content in the US earlier this year, and focused on videos that “could misinform users in harmful ways – such as videos promoting a phoney miracle cure for a serious illness, claiming the earth is flat, or making blatantly false claims about historic events like 9/11”.

After six months of the trial, the company says that views from recommendations to this sort of content fell by half. As a result, it is extending the trial to the UK, Ireland, South Africa “and other English-language markets”, Wojcicki said.

Reducing the spread of borderline content is one of the “four Rs” that Wojcicki says underpins the company’s approach to stewardship of its community.

In her quarterly letter to the site’s creators, the chief executive said the other three principles were:

To “remove content that violates our policy as quickly as possible … and we’re always looking to make our policies clearer and more effective, as we’ve done with pranks and challenges, child safety and hate speech just this year”.

To “raise up authoritative voices when people are looking for breaking news and information, especially during breaking news moments”.

And to “set a higher bar for what channels can make money on our site, rewarding trusted, eligible creators. Not all content allowed on YouTube is going to match what advertisers feel is suitable for their brand; we have to be sure they are comfortable with where their ads appear”.

“A commitment to openness is not easy,” Wojcicki added. “It sometimes means leaving up content that is outside the mainstream, controversial or even offensive. But I believe that hearing a broad range of perspectives ultimately makes us a stronger and more informed society, even if we disagree with some of those views.”

In an interview with the Observer earlier this month, Wojcicki argued that “news or news commentary [is] a very small percentage of the number of views we have. The vast majority of YouTube is a combination of influencers who are focused in areas like comedy, beauty, how-to, gaming”. Problematic content, she said, “is an extremely small part of the platform”.