Youtube's Recommendation System and the 2019 Canadian Federal

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Youtube's Recommendation System and the 2019 Canadian Federal UP NEXT: YouTube’s Recommendation System and the 2019 Canadian Federal Election by Daniel Cockcroft A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degrees of Master of Arts and Master of Library and Information Studies Digital Humanities and School of Library and Information Studies University of Alberta © Daniel Cockcroft, 2020 ABSTRACT In the months leading up to the 2016 election in the United States, YouTube’s recommendation algorithm decidedly favored pro-Trump videos, fake news and conspiracy theories. In this thesis, I question whether such bias is present in the context of the 2019 federal election in Canada. To do so, I make use of open-source software to gather recommendation data related to three of the candidates: Conservative Party of Canada leader Andrew Scheer, New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh, and Liberal Party of Canada leader Justin Trudeau. Using the same data, I will also study the media bias and factual accuracy of the sources recommended. My results show that YouTube’s recommender system is susceptible to influence by audiences and shows bias towards Andrew Scheer and against Justin Trudeau. Given my results and evidence provided by other researchers, this study stresses the need for ethical algorithm design, including proactive approaches for increased transparency, regulatory oversight, and increased public awareness. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to extend a big thank you to my supervisory committee, Tami, Astrid, and Harvey for keeping me inspired and asking the right questions. Your countless hours of work have not gone unnoticed, and through your efforts you’ve made me a better researcher and writer. I would also like to thank my friends for their inspiration and confidence in me, especially Kaitlyn and Kenzie. I am also immensely grateful for the support and flexibility given to me by my previous employers Leah Vanderjagt and Sharon Farnel. Special thanks to my graduate advisor, Nicola DiNicola. I couldn’t have done it without you all! Most of all, I’d like to thank my partner, Jill. Thanks for bearing with me. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................................. iii LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................................... viii LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................................... ix CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................ 1 Overview ............................................................................................................................................. 1 Rationale ............................................................................................................................................ 4 Objective ............................................................................................................................................. 6 Justification ...................................................................................................................................... 7 Algorithms and Recommender Systems....................................................................................... 7 Misinformation ................................................................................................................................ 8 YouTube ............................................................................................................................................ 8 Canadian Politics ........................................................................................................................... 10 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................... 11 CHAPTER TWO: CONTEXT ......................................................................................................... 13 Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 13 Canadian Context .......................................................................................................................... 13 Politics ............................................................................................................................................. 13 Cyber Threats ................................................................................................................................. 14 Potential Implications ................................................................................................................... 15 YouTube ............................................................................................................................................ 17 Layout ............................................................................................................................................. 17 Values .............................................................................................................................................. 21 Policy ............................................................................................................................................... 22 Roles ................................................................................................................................................ 24 System-Level Remediation ........................................................................................................... 25 YouTube & Content Issues ......................................................................................................... 28 Borderline Content ........................................................................................................................ 28 Automating the Automated .......................................................................................................... 31 Malicious Interference .................................................................................................................. 33 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................... 36 iv CHAPTER THREE: LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................... 38 Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 38 Algorithms ....................................................................................................................................... 38 Design .............................................................................................................................................. 38 Algorithms and Political Influence .............................................................................................. 39 Algorithms and Ethics ................................................................................................................... 40 Recommender Systems............................................................................................................... 41 Information Retrieval ................................................................................................................... 41 Design .............................................................................................................................................. 44 Beyond-Accuracy Objectives ........................................................................................................ 45 YouTube’s Recommender System .......................................................................................... 47 Design .............................................................................................................................................. 47 Development ................................................................................................................................... 50 Radicalization ................................................................................................................................ 53 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................... 59 CHAPTER FOUR: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ...................................................................... 61 Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 61 Selective Exposure Theory ........................................................................................................ 61 Application...................................................................................................................................... 64 Gatekeeping ..................................................................................................................................... 65 Application...................................................................................................................................... 67 Social Shaping of
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