Video-based content is already difficult to effectively moderate, because problematic content might be showcased visually, without keywords an automated AI might be able to check. And TikTok users are known for inventing shorthand and coded language specifically to evade censorship. There’s corn — or even just a corn emoji — for discussing porn, or “seggs” for sex. In the world of antisemitism, “H!tl3r” or “that Austrian painter” helps users talk about Hitler without detection.
Which makes total sense from Google’s point of view. They get paid when people watch YouTube. If I log on and see that Lazerpig hasn’t posted a video and then log off, I’m not using YouTube.
But if I log on and they recommend a historical cooking show I’ll watch like ten of them in a row before I remember what I even came there for.