The Internet Once Seemed Poised To Utterly Destroy The Establishment Media. In An Era Where Everyone With A Phone And A Social Media Account Could Reach An Audience Of Millions, The Need For Professional Journalists Gatekeeping Information Seemed Pointless.
Yet journalists have savagely fought back against the social media companies that once threatened to displace them. Today, one angry email from a left-wing journalist is enough to get a tech giant to frantically manipulate its algorithms — or even create manual blacklists — to appease them.
The journalists at BuzzFeed have become masters of this tactic. Recently, they launched an investigation into “misinformation” and “hyper-partisan” content on YouTube. A day after the publication of BuzzFeed’s report, YouTube announced it would adjust its algorithms to tackle “misinformation”. The outlet led the media pressure campaign to have Alex Jones booted from Twitter. Anti-censorship comedian Michael Meecham (aka “Count Dankula”) says it was BuzzFeed that made YouTube demonetize his channel, effectively firing him.
https://twitter.com/CountDankulaTV/status/1089174306913951744
For another example, look at Breitbart News’ latest scoop on YouTube, which caught the company red-handed altering search results for “abortion” mere hours after a Slate writer complained about the prominence of pro-life content on the platform.
Increasingly, Silicon Valley seems to be governed by a Mafia-like cycle of shakedowns imposed by the mainstream media. It usually follows the same pattern.
First, a relentless wave of negative coverage, aimed at causing outrage about the success of the mainstream media’s competitors on social media. Words like “misinformation,” “hate,” and “conspiracy theories” usually feature in such reports. Example: BuzzFeed – We Followed YouTube’s Recommendation Algorithm Down The Rabbithole.
Second, disingenuous “requests for comment” to advertisers, sponsors, business partners — anyone who the social media platform or the content creator relies on for revenue. (Example: Mandatory.com – PewDiePie Claims Wall Street Journal Tried To Get Him ‘Fired From YouTube’.
Third, unconditional surrender by the social media platform, which promises to ban or cut ties with whoever the journalist objected to, or adjust its search results or algorithm to better appease the mainstream critics. (Example: YouTube Official Blog – Continuing Our Work To Improve Recommendations on YouTube.
Having seen how easy this game is, other journalists follow suit, taking aim at their personal favorite targets — whether its search results on YouTube or the criticism of progressive activists on Twitter. Silicon Valley might consider the advice of Rudyard Kipling — once you pay the Dane-geld, you never get rid of the Dane. – READ MORE