How Did My Mother Come to Support President Yoon?

Editor's NoteConfirmation bias regarding social issues is becoming more deeply entrenched. Individual YouTubers, divided into far-right and far-left camps and gathering their respective supporters, are presenting us with a new political landscape. What kind of political world are they showing us? Can we really trust the world they present? Are we only seeing what we want to believe on YouTube, trapped in algorithm-driven filter bubbles? Asia Economy decided to put this to the test.

[YouTube and Confirmation Bias] ① Experimenting with the Algorithmic Filter Bubble

Devastating results after just five days of watching political YouTube

Videos watched separately as 'Kim Bosu' and 'Kim Jinbo'

Starkly different results in featured figures and media outlets

During our investigative reporting, we met a man in his 30s, Lee Taehui (alias), who is currently busy 'purifying' the YouTube algorithm on his 60-something mother's account. By deliberately searching for animal videos on her account, he managed to replace a feed filled with far-right YouTube content with recommendations for cat and dog videos. Lee started doing this after his mother began expressing strong political biases during conversations, leading to frequent family conflicts. When he checked her YouTube account, he found the recommendations and Shorts were flooded with far-right YouTuber videos. He lamented, "My mother started believing the words of individual YouTubers with no credible sources. Even when I tried to explain otherwise, she insisted that all mainstream media only report lies, making conversation impossible." Even when he's outside, Lee sends animal video links to his mother via KakaoTalk to encourage her to click on them. This is what is commonly referred to as an 'algorithm purification process.'

As the elderly, previously considered digital underdogs, become more familiar with smartphones, they have become targets of the 'filter bubble,' which selectively delivers information tailored to user preferences based on algorithms. What kind of world does YouTube present when users only watch videos that align with their tastes? Asia Economy decided to investigate this through a direct experiment.

On December 19, 2024, in front of the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office building, lawyer Seok Donghyun, who is set to defend President Yoon Seokyeol, met with reporters and expressed his stance on the investigation into charges of insurrection and the impeachment trial. YouTubers were live-streaming the scene on their phones, and real-time comments were appearing on the screen.

On December 19, 2024, in front of the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office building, lawyer Seok Donghyun, who is set to defend President Yoon Sukyeol, met with reporters to express his stance on the investigation into charges of insurrection and the impeachment trial. YouTubers were live streaming the scene on their phones, and real-time comments were appearing on the screen.

Watching Political YouTube with New Accounts 'Kim Bosu' and 'Kim Jinbo'

On the 7th, new YouTube accounts were created under the names 'Kim Bosu' and 'Kim Jinbo'. Next, using the YouTube channel ranking platform 'Playboard', each account subscribed to the top five most popular political channels for December. Kim Bosu subscribed to 'Seong Changkyung TV', 'Lee Bongkyu TV', 'Seo Jungwook TV', 'Shinui Hansu', and 'Bae Seunghee Attorney'. Kim Jinbo subscribed to 'Kim Eojun's Humility is Power News Factory', 'COOLBOX', 'Eonron Alaya Bakunda', 'Candlelight Action TV', and 'Baek Woonki's Sardine TV'.

For the next five days, each account watched one hour of videos daily from their subscribed channels to train the algorithm. This artificially created a situation where users only watched political YouTube videos that matched their political inclinations. Each day, the top 30 recommended videos were selected and the resulting phenomena were observed.

On the first day of the experiment, out of the 30 recommended videos on the Kim Bosu account, 7 were political videos hosted by far-right individual YouTubers and 3 were current affairs or political news from media outlets, totaling 10 videos (33.3%) related to political issues. On the Kim Jinbo account, out of 30 recommended videos, 7 were personal political YouTube videos and 5 were current affairs news covering political issues such as the impeachment of President Yoon, totaling 12 videos (40.0%) related to political issues.

From the second day of the experiment, both accounts saw a sharp increase in the frequency of political videos appearing in their recommendations. From the second to the fifth day, both Kim Bosu and Kim Jinbo accounts had nearly 20 political videos or news channel videos hosted by individual YouTubers appearing daily in their recommended lists. For both accounts, more than half of the 30 recommended videos were political issues, and most were from highly politically biased individual YouTuber channels.

How Did My Mother Come to Support President Yoon?

Two Worlds Created by YouTube...Not a Single Overlap in Featured Figures

If there was a notable difference between the two accounts, it was the proportion of videos from official media outlets' YouTube channels. Comparing the five-day totals, Kim Bosu's account had 117 individual YouTuber videos and 31 media outlet videos out of 150 recommended videos. In contrast, Kim Jinbo's account had 87 individual YouTuber channel videos and 44 mainstream media outlet videos out of 150. This suggests that from the moment the YouTube app was opened, Kim Bosu was exposed to far more individual YouTuber videos focused on political issues than mainstream media content.

The political orientation of the people featured in the videos was also completely opposite. On the Kim Bosu account, the recommended list included videos from Lee Youngpung, former KBS journalist; Jeon Okhyun, former deputy director of the National Intelligence Service and National Assembly candidate from the People Power Party; and Kang Shinuep, a lawyer classified as a conservative figure. All cited statements from individual political YouTubers were from People Power Party members such as Lim Ija and Yoon Sanghyun.

On the Kim Jinbo video list, there were videos featuring Yong Hyein, Basic Income Party lawmaker; Hwang Heedoo, director of the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation (former co-head of the Democratic Party’s election committee); pro-Democratic Party columnist Hwang Kyoik; and Cho Min, daughter of Cho Kuk, former leader of the Cho Kuk Innovation Party, on her personal channel. The YouTubers mostly cited articles from media outlets classified as progressive, such as MBC and JTBC. Even in non-political entertainment or documentary videos, those featuring author Yoo Simin or introducing his political life were recommended, indicating a political undertone.

On June 21, 2024, the trial date for Lee Jaemyung, the Democratic Party leader, regarding the Daejangdong breach of trust and Seongnam FC bribery case was held at the Seoul Central District Court. YouTubers are filming the scene with their phones around the courthouse.

Both Kim Bosu and Kim Jinbo, despite being on the same platform with access to over 20 million channels covering a wide range of topics, formed completely different worlds within the same 'politics' category, with no overlapping recommended videos. For Kim Bosu, there was not a single instance where a video watched or recommended to Kim Jinbo appeared in his recommendations.

It is also noteworthy that channels run by shamans offering fortune-telling and horoscopes appeared in the recommended lists for both accounts. On the Kim Bosu account, a video titled 'Predicting Lee Jaemyung's Fortune for 2025...Death is Foreseen' featured a shaman predicting the outcome of Lee Jaemyung, leader of the Democratic Party's second trial. On the Kim Jinbo recommended list, a video titled 'Yoon Sukyeol's True Feelings While Enduring in Seclusion' showed a shaman predicting the fate of President Yoon.