I was watching Nazeem Hussain’s videos on YouTube. I found him while randomly browsing YouTube. I found him to be interesting and funny and his jokes are to the point.

After watching some of his videos, I realised that YouTube is suggesting Islamic videos to me. And I was wondering what is going on. I used YouTube without any account for a long time. But I cannot recall a time when youtube suggest Islamic videos for me. Most of the time I watch tech videos or documentary/news or comedy. I cannot recall if I ever watch or search religious videos including Islamic videos.

Then it hits me. Nazeem Hussain is a Muslim. Youtube’s algorithm is thinking that I am watching him because he is a Muslim and guessing that I am also a Muslim and starts suggesting more and more Islamic videos. But the algorithm is not getting the fact that I am watching Nazeem because hi is funny, not because he is a Muslim.

This incident gives me some idea of how YouTube helps to radicalise people. You are watching a video on YouTube without any special goal. You are just enjoying it without any specific purpose. But then YouTube’s algorithm, which wants to keep you on YouTube as long as possible so that it can show you ads and make money, starts showing you videos that have the elements to shape your political or religious beliefs. And then it probably going to repeat this over and over so that you are glued to the screen and watch YouTube more and more.

I guess this is how lots of people who come to YouTube for innocent fun become radicalised.