YouTube alters search algorithm after Las Vegas
Website will promote videos from more mainstream outlets
YouTube has changed its powerful search algorithm to promote videos from more mainstream news outlets in search results after people looking for details on the Las Vegas shooting were served up conspiracy theories and misinformation.
YouTube confirmed the changes Thursday. It didn’t say how it decides which news sources are authoritative.
In the days after the mass shooting, videos abounded on YouTube, some questioning whether the shooting occurred and others claiming law enforcement officials had deceived the public about what really happened.
Searching for “Las Vegas shooting ” on YouTube led many people to these videos, some of which claimed it was a “false flag,” a term conspiracy theorists use to refer to mass shootings they believe were staged by the government to promote gun control.
Law enforcement officials say Las Vegas gunman Stephen Paddock acted alone, opening fire Sunday from the 32nd floor of the hotel. The attack killed 58 people and injured nearly 500. Paddock killed himself as police tried to break into the room.
Jake Morphonios, who runs the End Times News Report, championed the theory of a second shooter on the fourth floor of the Mandalay Bay casino. He says he presented a “fact-based analysis of the evidence” and insists “there is nothing offensive in my videos.” But Morphonios says he received a strike from YouTube for violating its community standards. YouTube takes down accounts that get three strikes in three months.
As a result, Morphonios told YouTube viewers he deleted all of the Las Vegas videos.
“I hated to do it, but if I get any more strikes, my entire channel is going to be deleted,” he said.