Investigating the Impacts of YouTube's Content Policies on Journalism and Political Discourse

Abstract

Social media has become a primary mode of journalism and political discourse as evidenced by recent online political movements. Platforms like YouTube, by monetizing content through advertising revenue, have fostered a new group of online political professionals, including journalists and commentators. Recently, to limit the spread of misinformation and hateful content, these platforms have begun revising their content monetization, recommendation, and removal policies. To explore the impact on creators, we present an interview based study of journalists and political commentators on YouTube. Our participants report that these policies' implementations are inadequate technically and impacting their ability to survive financially. In their view, these policies may result in the suppression of legitimate reporting and discourse that dissents from mainstream consensus. We identify potential systemic effects of these polices and develop implications for the future design of online media.