Behind the Algorithm | YouTube's Dark Secrets
With dark humour and caustic wit, 100 Million Views uncovers the truth about a platform that promised transparency and democracy, but hides an exploitative, censored and unaccountable underbelly.
2023-05-03 14:00:00 - ENDEVR
After years making Youtube videos without success, Itamar Rose sets out on a mission – to discover the secrets of what makes a video go viral.
Along the way he meets with YouTube stars past and present, from early viral sensations such as ‘The Double Rainbow’ and ‘David After Dentist’ to the modern breed of Influencers who have fine tuned the art of audience building, algorithmic tampering and fan engagement.
Itamar’s mission pulls back the curtain on an industry where even the viral success stories begin life with views bought from ‘click farms’, experts explain to us how success still depends on marketing experience and partnerships beyond the reach of ordinary YouTubers, boot camps train the next generation of fame hungry children and even the most unassuming creators are drawn into cynical practices that reward ‘gaming the system’.
As we go deeper, YouTube stars fall by the wayside exhausted by the demands to constantly create and ‘feed the beast’ or disappear from the rankings, and Itamar himself is ejected from a YouTube event for asking difficult questions.
While Itamar’s journey takes him into the heart of the YouTube machine, difficult questions emerge about how exactly this platform that was supposed to give everyone a voice, has evolved.