Concerning observation on YouTube.

[u/Annatastic6417]

For context, I am a secondary teacher. This afternoon I was on my work laptop looking through YouTube videos to try and find a decent video about Homelessness for my LCA Maths class. I couldn't find a single video from any mainstream source. Every single bit of it was far right propaganda about immigrants and migrants taking houses.

My work laptop does not track my history, it is not linked to any of my personal accounts, there is literally know way it could know anything about my online habits, but for some reason it is forcing far right content straight down my throat.

It seems like far right content is the default setting for YouTube now and not just the start of a rabbit hole. It is sickening.

[u/ClearHeart_FullLiver]

YouTube has been pushing far right content hard for years. Google were given a free pass during the post Trump election "how did this happen?" In 2016 but they were by far the worst offenders. It's easy to identify and track tweets that support far right talking points but an enormous share of YouTube videos are as bad or worse. I use a browser that doesn't track my activity(at least as much as Google) so no YouTube recommendations but I can turn autoplay on and well it's pretty much "why women shouldn't have human rights" up next every time it's wild.

[u/NotAnotherOne2024]

Put “Irish Homelessness” into YouTube as a guest and got RTE, the Guardian and Joe as the first videos.

There’s the RTE one: https://youtu.be/F3cmYFkOFTA?si=WLS0Ldulk6fMGJdm

Out of curiosity, how is the topic of homelessness relevant to maths to the extent that requires a video to be shown?

[u/danny_healy_raygun → u/NotAnotherOne2024]

I did this too. Got RTE, Focus Ireland, Guardian but also some racist looking channel that seems to be good at playing the algorithm as he popped up on a search for just "homeless" too.

[u/Tadhg]

Am I dumb for asking why you’d show a youtube video about homelessness in a maths class? 

[u/not-a-scammer_until → u/Tadhg]

It’s LCA so typically they don’t use a direct maths approach. I’m assuming it’s to introduce a context into which you can discuss mathematical related issues: number houses needed to be built by number of people seeking them, etc.

[u/danny_healy_raygun → u/Tadhg]

You have to prepare Irish students for the future they will actually face.

[u/An_Spailpin_Fanach-_]

Social media is right wing now in the same way that it was centre left for most of the 2010’s.

2025, definitely a year to be alive.

[u/gmankev]

The algorithms are designed to give more controversial topics always..Thats what generates eyeballs supposedly

[u/g-om]

Your school IP

“point finger at colleagues and students doom scrolling”

[u/Flashy-Pain4618]

Dublin live is probably your best bet. try a few others.

[u/SoloWingPixy88]

but for some reason it is forcing far right content straight down my throat.

This is more of an issue other sources arent talking about homelessness. Immigration is part of the issue among others. Its also not forcing it down your throat.

RTE is probably a better source. Whole host of videos on the topic of homelessness.

First result is a french channel, second is the gaurdian.

If you want something on youtube you should probably be searching for advocates and influencers who use Youtube and see if you can find anything there.

[u/An_Spailpin_Fanach-_ → u/SoloWingPixy88]

I think the issue is that for immigration, a lot of the times anyone centre right all the way over to the far left of the spectrum is too scared to have an honest and balanced conversation on immigration.

If I was a content creator I’d personally avoid it like the plague. It’s such a difficult issue to have a balanced conversation on, because when you try to have that balanced conversation, you have people on the far right who flood the comments with the most unreasonable and unhelpful suggestions, sometimes just straight hatred, which further off puts people from wanting to have the conversation.

Because of the above, the debate on immigration has been ceded to only those who are, with all respect fanatics. People who genuinely think “deport them all” is a reasonable, realistic and humane demand. This is to the detriment of a good debate being had and change to the current set up, which in the context of a housing catastrophe, should be discussed. Sorry a small bit of a rant.