YouTube algorithm could be manipulated by 'bad actors,' used for 'fraudulent content,' senator warns

Kurt the'CyberGuy' comments on new services and apps that do. YouTube's powerful recommendation algorithm may be "optimizing for outrageous, salacious and often fraudulent content" or easily manipulated by "bad actors, including foreign intelligence entities," a top-ranking Democrat on the Senate's intelligence committee said. Virginia Sen. Mark Warner made the statement after a Guardian investigation reported that the Google-owned video platform was consistently promoting divisive and conspiratorial videos damaging to Hillary Clinton's campaign before the 2016 election. "Companies like YouTube have immense power and influence in shaping the media and content that users see," Warner told the Guardian. "I've been increasingly concerned that the recommendation engine algorithms behind platforms like YouTube are, at best, intrinsically flawed in optimizing for outrageous, salacious, and often fraudulent content."