YouTube’s Product Chief on Online Radicalization and Algorithmic Rabbit Holes

A Q&A with Neal Mohan, YouTube’s chief product officer.

The recommendation engine is a growing liability for YouTube, which has been accused of steering users toward increasingly extreme content. After the recent mass shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand — the work of a gunman who showed signs of having been radicalized online — critics asked whether YouTube and other platforms were not just allowing hateful and violent content to exist but actively promoting it to their users. Mohan spoke about the things YouTube has already done to rein in extreme content — hiring additional reviewers, introducing a “breaking news shelf” that kicks in after major news events, altering the recommendation algorithm to reduce the distribution of conspiracy theories and other “borderline content” — and about the company’s plans for the future.