Will YouTube curb misinformation in Brazil? Don’t count on it

Godwin’s law is an internet adage asserting that “as an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches 1.” A similar thing could be said of the YouTube related videos algorithm—the more you watch, the higher the chance of being directed to the channel of some sort of conspiracy theorist.

Start watching anything on a political topic on YouTube and, inevitably, you will end up being shown content with extreme, misleading, or even flat-out false content. If you are on the left, you will end up being directed to left-wing conspiracies. The same is true on the right. Experiments on this YouTube phenomenon have reached similar conclusions that the platform’s algorithm tends to boost misinformation.

That is actually not entirely YouTube’s fault, as fake news spreads faster than verifiable facts on any platform. But the algorithm takes this phenomenon to a whole new level. YouTube’s artificial intelligence systems are designed to maximize watch time, learning from user behavior and recommending content users will be drawn to.

It is harder to underestimate the video-sharing company’s power in Brazil, where it has over 100 million users (or half of the country’s population). According to Google, its parent company, YouTube added 35 million users over the past two years, the equivalent of the entire population...