Unable to Converse Trusting Unverified YouTubers... Devastating Outcome After 5 Days of Watching Political YouTube [YouTube and Confirmation Bias]

Algorithm Filter Bubble Experiment
'Kim Jinbo' and 'Kim Bosu' Watch Separate Videos
Completely Different Figures and Media Outlets in Recommendations

Editor's NoteIt is deepening confirmation bias on social issues. Individual YouTubers who gather support bases divided into far-right and far-left?what kind of political world are they showing us? Can we really trust the world they present? Are we only watching what we want to believe through YouTube due to algorithm-created filter bubbles? Asia Economy decided to verify this.

[YouTube and Confirmation Bias] During a planned investigation, we met Lee Tae-hee (pseudonym), a man in his 30s, who is currently engaged in 'algorithm purification' of the YouTube content his 60-year-old mother watches. Using his mother's account, he deliberately searched for animal videos repeatedly to overwrite the screen filled with far-right YouTube content with recommended videos of cats and dogs. He started this because his mother frequently revealed biased political views during conversations, causing conflicts with family members. Upon checking his mother's YouTube account, the recommended videos and Shorts were filled with far-right YouTuber videos. He lamented, "My mother started believing in words from individual YouTubers without sources. Even when I explained otherwise, she said all mainstream media only report lies, making conversation impossible." Even when he is outside, if he sees animal videos, he sends the video links to his mother via KakaoTalk to encourage her to click. This act is called 'algorithm purification.'

The elderly, previously classified as digital underprivileged, have become targets of 'filter bubbles' that select information tailored to their tastes based on their algorithm usage as they become more familiar with smartphones. What kind of world does YouTube show when users only watch videos that suit their preferences? Asia Economy decided to conduct an experiment to examine this.

On May 20, 2024, at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, internet media outlet Seoul's Voice CEO Baek Eun-jong is being live-streamed as YouTubers visit to submit a complaint against President Yoon Seok-yeol and his spouse. Photo by Heo Young-han

'Kim Bosu' and 'Kim Jinbo' watch political YouTube channels with new accounts

On the 7th, new YouTube accounts were created under the names 'Kim Bosu' and 'Kim Jinbo.' Then, each subscribed to five political channels ranked 1st to 5th in popularity for December on the YouTube channel ranking platform 'Playboard.' Kim Bosu subscribed to 'Seong Chang-kyung TV,' 'Lee Bong-gyu TV,' 'Seo Jung-wook TV,' 'Shinui Hansu,' and 'Lawyer Bae Seung-hee.' Kim Jinbo subscribed to 'Kim Eo-jun's Humility is Difficult News Factory,' 'COOLBOX,' 'We Must Know the Media to Change It,' 'Candlelight Action TV,' and 'Baek Woon-gi's Sardine TV.'

For five days, each day they watched one hour of videos from the subscribed channels to train the algorithm. This artificially created a situation where the user only watched political YouTube videos matching their political orientation. Then, every day, 30 recommended videos were selected to observe the phenomena.

On the first day of the experiment, among the 30 recommended videos on the Kim Bosu account, 7 were videos by far-right individual YouTubers, and 3 were news related to current affairs and politics from media outlets, totaling 10 (33.3%) videos about political issues. On the Kim Jinbo account, among 30 recommended videos, 7 were individual political YouTube videos, and 5 were current affairs news covering political issues such as the impeachment push against President Yoon, totaling 12 (40.0%) videos about political issues.

From the second day of the experiment, the frequency of political videos appearing in the recommended lists surged for both accounts. From day 2 to day 5, both Kim Bosu and Kim Jinbo accounts had around 20 political videos by individual YouTubers or news channels daily in their recommended videos. More than half of the 30 recommended videos on both accounts were about political issues, mostly from individual YouTuber channels with strong political bias.

Two worlds created by YouTube... not a single overlapping character

A notable difference between the two accounts is the proportion of videos from official media YouTube channels. Comparing the total over five days, Kim Bosu had 117 individual YouTuber videos and 31 media videos out of 150 recommended videos. In contrast, Kim Jinbo had 87 individual YouTuber videos and 44 mainstream media videos out of 150. This suggests that from the moment the YouTube app is opened, Kim Bosu was exposed more to individual YouTuber videos on political issues than to mainstream media.

The figures appearing in the videos also had political orientations 180 degrees apart. On the Kim Bosu account, videos from Lee Young-pung, a former KBS reporter; Jeon Ok-hyun, former 1st deputy director of the National Intelligence Service who ran for the National Assembly under the People Power Party; and Kang Shin-up, a lawyer classified as conservative, appeared in the recommended list. The sources cited in individual political YouTuber videos were all People Power Party lawmakers such as Im E-ja and Yoon Sang-hyun.

On the Kim Jinbo video list appeared videos from Yong Hye-in, a Basic Income Party lawmaker; Hwang Hee-doo, director of the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation (former co-chair of the Democratic Party's election committee); Hwang Kyo-ik, a columnist with a pro-Democratic Party stance; and Cho Min, daughter of Cho Kuk, former leader of the Cho Kuk Innovation Party. Most YouTubers cited articles from media outlets classified as progressive, such as MBC and JTBC. Even entertainment or documentary videos unrelated to political news sometimes recommended videos featuring writer Yoo Si-min or videos introducing Yoo's political life, containing political coloring.

On September 20, 2024, the day of the sentencing hearing for Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party, on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act, YouTubers standing at the entrance of the Seoul Central District Court building simultaneously raised their cameras high and filmed as a commotion broke out between supporters and opponents of Lee. Photo by Heo Young-han

Both Kim Bosu and Kim Jinbo could access over 20 million channels with various content topics on the same platform, YouTube, but even within the same category of 'politics,' they formed completely different worlds without overlapping recommended videos. For Kim Bosu, there was never a case where a video watched or recommended by Kim Jinbo appeared.

It is also noteworthy that shaman YouTubers who provide fortune-telling and saju (Korean fortune reading) appeared in the recommended video lists of both accounts. On the Kim Bosu account, a video titled 'I predicted Lee Jae-myung's 2025 fortune... death is reflected' featured a shaman predicting the second trial result of Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party. On the Kim Jinbo recommended video list, a video titled 'The true feelings of President Yoon Seok-youl enduring in seclusion' featured a shaman predicting President Yoon's fate.