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Max_Fisher's profile
Max Fisher
Max Fisher
Max Fisher
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@Max_Fisher

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Max FisherVerified account

@Max_Fisher

Writer @nytimes for The Interpreter, a column exploring the ideas and context behind major world events.

New York, NY
nytimes.com/column/the-int…
Joined October 2008

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    Max Fisher‏Verified account @Max_Fisher 3 Jun 2019

    YouTube’s algorithm has been curating home movies of unwitting families into a catalog of semi-nude kids, we found. YT often plays the videos after users watch softcore porn, building an audience of millions for what experts call child sexual exploitationhttps://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/03/world/americas/youtube-pedophiles.html …

    5:52 AM - 3 Jun 2019
    • 7,349 Retweets
    • 7,772 Likes
    • Kenneth Sanchez Ancaro ampelia María José Huracán Córdova, aprobando 👻 Pakinam Amer Kaven Borbon ParkerBond useDistancing(6) Someone from Czechia
    445 replies 7,349 retweets 7,772 likes
      1. New conversation
      2. Max Fisher‏Verified account @Max_Fisher 3 Jun 2019

        Each video might appear innocent on its own, a home movie of a kid in a two-piece swimsuit or a nightie. But each has three common traits: • the girl is mostly unclothed or briefly nude • she is no older than age 8 • her video is being heavily promoted by YouTube’s algorithm

        11 replies 602 retweets 1,623 likes
        Show this thread
      3. Max Fisher‏Verified account @Max_Fisher 3 Jun 2019

        Any user who watched one kiddie video would be directed by YouTube's algorithm to dozens more — each selected out of millions of otherwise-obscure home movies by an incredibly sophisticated piece of software that YouTube calls an artificial intelligence. The families had no idea.

        13 replies 519 retweets 1,621 likes
        Show this thread
      4. Max Fisher‏Verified account @Max_Fisher 3 Jun 2019

        We talked to one mother, in Brazil, whose daughter had posted a video of her and a friend playing in swimsuits. YouTube’s algorithm found the video and promoted it to users who watched other partly-clothed prepubescent children. Within a few days of posting, it had 400,000 views

        38 replies 735 retweets 1,834 likes
        Show this thread
      5. Max Fisher‏Verified account @Max_Fisher 3 Jun 2019

        We talked to child psychologists, sexual trauma specialists, psychologists who work with pedophiles, academic experts on pedophilia, network analysts. They all said YouTube has built a vast audience — maybe unprecedented — for child sexual exploitation, with grave risks for kids.

        20 replies 1,008 retweets 2,440 likes
        Show this thread
      6. Max Fisher‏Verified account @Max_Fisher 3 Jun 2019

        YouTube, to its credit, said it has been working nonstop on this issue since a similar issue was first reported in February. YT also removed some of the videos immediately after we alerted the company, though not others that we did not specifically flag.

        18 replies 276 retweets 1,286 likes
        Show this thread
      7. Max Fisher‏Verified account @Max_Fisher 3 Jun 2019

        YouTube’s algorithm also changed immediately after we notified the company, no longer linking the kiddie videos together. Strangely, however, YouTube insisted that the timing was a coincidence. When I pushed, YT said the timing might have been related, but wouldn’t say it was.

        9 replies 350 retweets 1,499 likes
        Show this thread
      8. Max Fisher‏Verified account @Max_Fisher 3 Jun 2019

        I asked YouTube— why not just turn off recommendations on videos of kids? Your system can already identify videos of kids automatically. The recommendation algorithm is driving this whole child exploitation phenomenon. Switching it off would solve the problem and keep kids safe.

        16 replies 593 retweets 2,665 likes
        Show this thread
      9. Max Fisher‏Verified account @Max_Fisher 3 Jun 2019

        Initially, YouTube gave me comment saying that they were trending in that direction. Experts were thrilled, calling it potentially a hugely positive step. Then YouTube “clarified” their comment. Creators rely on recommendations to drive traffic, they said, so would stay on. 📈

        26 replies 341 retweets 1,355 likes
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      10. Max Fisher‏Verified account @Max_Fisher 3 Jun 2019

        On a personal note, I found reporting this emotionally straining, far more so than I'd anticipated. Watching the videos made me physically ill and I've been having regular nightmares. I only mention it because I cannot fathom what this is like for parents whose kids are swept up.

        68 replies 417 retweets 3,075 likes
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      11. Max Fisher‏Verified account @Max_Fisher 3 Jun 2019

        As I reported last year with @kbennhold, YouTube’s algorithm does something similar with politics. We found it directing large numbers of Germans news consumers toward far-right extremist videos, with real-world implications.https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/07/world/europe/youtube-far-right-extremism.html …

        43 replies 914 retweets 2,363 likes
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      12. Max Fisher‏Verified account @Max_Fisher 3 Jun 2019

        For more on what happens when YouTube and other social networks route an ever-growing global share of human social relations through engagement-maximizing algorithms, read our essay on “the Algorithmification of the Human Experience”: https://static.nytimes.com/email-content/INT_5362.html?nlid=78801897 …

        60 replies 571 retweets 1,930 likes
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      13. Max Fisher‏Verified account @Max_Fisher 6 Jun 2019

        Wow: Senator Hawley has introduced legislation off of our story that would prohibit video-hosting services like YouTube from recommending videos that feature minors. https://www.hawley.senate.gov/sites/default/files/2019-06/Protecting-Children-Online-Predators-Act-Highlight.pdf …

        7 replies 134 retweets 588 likes
        Show this thread
      14. Max Fisher‏Verified account @Max_Fisher 6 Jun 2019

        When I asked YouTube about doing exactly this last week, the company did not deny that it was technically capable, and even hinted they might do so voluntarily. Later, YT said they would not do this because it would hurt traffic. Sen. Hawley’s bill would force them to do it.

        4 replies 66 retweets 340 likes
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      15. Max Fisher‏Verified account @Max_Fisher 7 Jun 2019

        More momentum building: Senators Blumenthal and Blackburn send an open letter to YouTube’s CEO about our story, demanding to know, among other things, why YouTube will not turn off recommendations on videos of children. https://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2019.06.03%20-%20YouTube%20-%20Child%20Abuse.pdf …

        9 replies 103 retweets 441 likes
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      16. Max Fisher‏Verified account @Max_Fisher 17 Jun 2019

        Samantha Bee did a very good segment on YouTube’s troubles, leading with our story on algorithm-assisted pedophilia:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC18vz5hUUqxbGvym9ghtX_w …

        2 replies 66 retweets 215 likes
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      17. End of conversation

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