Data Donation: Researchers want to analyze the YouTube algorithm

Social media collects information about their users, but does not reveal how their mechanisms work. If you want to know more about systems, you need to analyze them yourself. That’s what startups are all about Project Database In front. You want to know how the YouTube algorithm works when watching videos about the federal election in 2021. Therefore Ask for data donations.

Data can be donated until August 25th. “So far, most research has only seen suggestions and search results from YouTube from the outside, that is, without logging into a personal account,” the makers wrote on the Datascope website. Anyone considering donating can pre-evaluate their YouTube profile and use visualizations to verify which data is transparent.

Datascope is a collaborative project Algorithmwatch, European University in Frankfurt Vietrina (Oder), University of Applied Sciences Potsdam, University of Baderborn and The Media paths of the association. Scientists at Viatrina and Spiegel’s data journalists evaluate donation data. They want to release the first results before the general election.

Donors must download a client

They want to make their results available to media educational institutions by November. Operators say they have The data can be used after many years. However, donors can view or delete them at any time. Commercial reuse is excluded.

If you want to donate data in the YouTube app, you can get one Download the client software. It is an electronic application based on the Chrome browser and runs on Windows, Mac and Linux. There, the collected data will be stored locally before being uploaded via web software. Data donors can edit, delete or download their information at any time.