Related papers: Algorithmic Extremism: Examining YouTube's Rabbit …
In recent years, the Internet has been dominated by content-rich platforms, employing recommendation systems to provide users with more appealing content (e.g., videos in YouTube, movies in Netflix). While traditional content…
While substantial effort has been devoted to understand fraudulent activity in traditional online advertising (search and banner), more recent forms such as video ads have received little attention. The understanding and identification of…
The rapid spread of radical ideologies in recent years has led to a worldwide string of terrorist attacks. Understanding how extremist tendencies germinate, develop, and drive individuals to action is important from a cultural standpoint,…
Polarization and echo chambers are often studied in the context of explicitly political events such as elections, and little scholarship has examined the mixing of political groups in non-political contexts. A major obstacle to studying…
YouTube, with millions of content creators, has become the preferred destination for watching videos online. Through the Partner program, YouTube allows content creators to monetize their popular videos. Of significant importance for…
This paper critically audits the search endpoint of YouTube's Data API (v3), a common tool for academic research. Through systematic weekly searches over six months using eleven queries, we identify major limitations regarding completeness,…
TikTok currently is the fastest growing social media platform with over 1 billion active monthly users of which the majority is from generation Z. Arguably, its most important success driver is its recommendation system. Despite the…
YouTube Kids (YTK) is one of the most popular kids' applications used by millions of kids daily. However, various studies have highlighted concerns about the videos on the platform, like the over-presence of entertaining and commercial…
We consider a novel application of inverse reinforcement learning with behavioral economics constraints to model, learn and predict the commenting behavior of YouTube viewers. Each group of users is modeled as a rationally inattentive…
Ideologically homogeneous online environments - often described as "echo chambers" or "filter bubbles" - are widely seen as drivers of polarization, radicalization, and misinformation. A central debate asks whether such homophily stems…
The rise of social media and online social networks has been a disruptive force in society. Opinions are increasingly shaped by interactions on online social media, and social phenomena including disagreement and polarization are now…
The flourishing of fake news is favored by recommendation algorithms of online social networks which, based on previous users activity, provide content adapted to their preferences and so create filter bubbles. We introduce an analytically…
In recent years, algorithms have been incorporated into fact-checking pipelines. They are used not only to flag previously fact-checked misinformation, but also to provide suggestions about which trending claims should be prioritized for…
The Internet has become an essential part of children's and adolescents' daily life. Social media platforms are used as educational and entertainment resources on daily bases by young users, leading enormous efforts to ensure their safety…
TikTok has seen exponential growth as a platform, fuelled by the success of its proprietary recommender algorithm which serves tailored content to every user - though not without controversy. Users complain of their content being unfairly…
Suicide remains a leading cause of death in Western countries. As social media becomes central to daily life, digital footprints offer valuable insight into suicidal behavior. Focusing on individuals who attempted suicide while uploading…
Recommendations are central to the utility of many websites including YouTube, Quora as well as popular e-commerce stores. Such sites typically contain a set of recommendations on every product page that enables visitors to easily navigate…
Search engines play an important role in the context of modern elections. By curating information in response to user queries, search engines influence how individuals are informed about election-related developments and perceive the media…
This article analyzes the reception of a novel algorithmic recommendation of documentary films by a panel of moviegoers of the T{\"e}nk platform. In order to propose an alternative to recommendations based on a thematic classification, the…
Digital platforms such as social media and e-commerce websites adopt Recommender Systems to provide value to the user. However, the social consequences deriving from their adoption are still unclear. Many scholars argue that recommenders…