Examining racial stereotypes in YouTube autocomplete suggestions

IF 4.5 1区文学 Q1 COMMUNICATION

New Media & Society Pub Date : 2025-06-26 DOI:10.1177/14614448251346503

Eunbin Ha, Haein Kong, Shagun Jhaver

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Autocomplete is a popular search feature that predicts queries based on user input and guides users to a set of potentially relevant suggestions. In this study, we examine what YouTube autocompletes suggest to users seeking information about race on the platform. Specifically, we perform an algorithm output audit of autocomplete suggestions for input queries about four racial groups and examine the stereotypes they embody. Using critical discourse analysis, we identify five major sociocultural contexts in which racial information appears – Appearance , Ability , Culture , Social Equity , and Manner . We found that the participatory nature of YouTube produces a multifaceted representation of race-related content in its search outputs, characterized by enduring historical biases, aggregated discrimination, and interracial tensions, while simultaneously depicting minority resistance and aspirations of a post-racial society. We call for innovations in content moderation policy design and enforcement to address existing racial harms in YouTube search outputs.

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检查YouTube自动补全建议中的种族刻板印象

自动补全是一项流行的搜索功能，它可以根据用户输入预测查询，并将用户引导到一组可能相关的建议。在这项研究中，我们研究了YouTube自动完成对在平台上寻找种族信息的用户的建议。具体来说，我们对关于四个种族群体的输入查询的自动完成建议执行算法输出审计，并检查它们所包含的刻板印象。使用批判性话语分析，我们确定了种族信息出现的五种主要社会文化背景-外观，能力，文化，社会公平和方式。我们发现，YouTube的参与性在其搜索输出中产生了与种族相关内容的多方面表现，其特点是持久的历史偏见、综合歧视和种族间紧张关系，同时描绘了少数民族的抵抗和后种族社会的愿望。我们呼吁在内容审核政策设计和执行方面进行创新，以解决YouTube搜索结果中存在的种族危害。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

New Media & Society COMMUNICATION-

CiteScore

12.70

自引率

8.00%

发文量

274

期刊介绍： New Media & Society engages in critical discussions of the key issues arising from the scale and speed of new media development, drawing on a wide range of disciplinary perspectives and on both theoretical and empirical research. The journal includes contributions on: -the individual and the social, the cultural and the political dimensions of new media -the global and local dimensions of the relationship between media and social change -contemporary as well as historical developments -the implications and impacts of, as well as the determinants and obstacles to, media change the relationship between theory, policy and practice.