[Open Radio] Current events YouTube where fact and false are not distinguished, what are the countermeasures?

[Open Radio YTN]

■ Broadcast: YTN Radio FM 94.5 (20:20-21:00)
■ Air date: December 21, 2024 (Saturday)
■ Host: announcer Choi Hwi
■ Talk: Yoo Hyun-jae, professor of communication at Sogang University

* The text below may differ from the actual broadcast content, so please check the broadcast for more accurate information.

◇ Announcer Choi Hwi (hereinafter Choi Hwi): YTN Radio Open Radio Media Criticism. Today, I am calling Yoo Hyun-jae, a professor of communication at Sogang University. Hello, professor.

◆ Yoo Hyun-jae, professor of communication at Sogang University (hereinafter Yoo Hyun-jae): Yes, how are you?

◇ Choi Hwi: The topic we're going to talk about today is YouTube journalism. In fact, there are many evaluations that current affairs YouTube has a reporting function. This is the media that serves as a reporting function. Is the influence of current affairs YouTube at the level of the media?

◆ Yoo Hyun-jae: I think it's going to be slightly different depending on the definition of the concept of the media. As you said earlier, isn't it actually enormous in terms of the level of influence? As we all know. And there's this recently released 'Digital News Report' data, and that's what Koreans think. So, the boundaries between existing media companies and YouTube you mentioned earlier have become ambiguous, and people think that and look for it a lot after that, but there are many cases where it's not legal when you start to question it. It's not a permit system, but a registration system, so it can be anyone. From that point of view, the hurdle is low, too.It's true that there's something a little vague about the boundaries anyway.

◇ [Choi Hwi] I see. In terms of influence, large current affairs YouTubes are viewed through the media, but not legally. We'll talk about this later. So is there anything that has been numerically confirmed how many people are watching the news on YouTube recently?

◆ Yoo Hyun-jae: It's the data I told you about earlier. It's called a 'digital news report', so we continue to investigate it every year. I ask Korean people and foreigners, too. How much news do you get through YouTube? There's a question that asks ''. But if you look at it, a little more than 53% of Koreans answered yes. But the figure doesn't seem to be anything, but it's two or three times higher than in foreign countries. So, through YouTube, you get to see the media and the news. Me too, but I haven't read a paper newspaper like this recently. And then the so-called legacy media, right? Through such media, it can be seen that the way we have traditionally encountered media has changed a lot.

◇ Choi Hwi: So half of the people watch the news on YouTube.

◆ Yoo Hyunjae: That's right.

◇ Choi Hwi: So the broadcasts that current affairs YouTubes are doing right now, what do you see as the biggest problem?

◆ Yoo Hyun-jae: If we talk about legacy media and traditional media, there's a kind of system now. There's also a death king, and when there's a fact related to a certain fact, the Media Arbitration Committee. So there's a system that's on the inside and on the outside. But of course, that can't be perfect.Ma is filtered and having a system within it guarantees some quality. But not all of them, but as I said earlier, it's YouTube that is not registered as a media, but there are people who think of them as a media and are at an ambiguous boundary. What happens when the influence becomes greater? But I can't tell you everything. It cleverly mixes a kind of fact with something that's not true. If you mix it, it's much more flammable. So if there is a truth, it can be seen that the most basic principles of the media are those related to the truth. Some people don't even have a concept of that anymore. In a way, it can be seen as a business model. So how did I get the facts and how will I spread them? Will it spread? When I focus on how to make a lot of people click, I mix up false information or draw headlines that are too stimulating to the point of going too far. In this way, it becomes difficult to see news or media in the traditional sense. It's kind of like a creation. As I said earlier, it has become like a business model, so I can tell you that the deterioration is becoming a positive phase.

◇ Choi Hwi: So if you mix facts and falsehoods, the so-called 'sell well' views rise well. You pointed out some problems like that. I remember talking to the professor about the algorithm in the last interview. If you watch a video on YouTube of current affairs with extreme political tendencies, related videos are constantly coming out. But the problem is that if you keep watching this, you can easily believe fake news as true.

◆ Yoo Hyunjae: Yes. In the past, I'm also a professor of the department.Ma teaches a lot of theories related to communication media to students. But recently, among the things I've taught a lot related to social phenomena, such as echo chamber theory, confirmation bias theory, and amplification oxygen are the things you mentioned earlier. So, bad information followed by false information and manipulated information, but the ignition power is much stronger and the speed at which it spreads is much stronger. So most of the YouTube videos we talked about earlier use the propaganda method. So the truth is that there's a much stronger emphasis on "how to say" than on so-called "what to say." In fact, whether it's false or not, they scream or draw headlines very stimulatingly. If those things are caught in the algorithm and are continuously exposed now, at first, 'Is this true? No. Is this right? It doesn't fit. ’ Even the audience who gets confused about these things is much more likely to believe that if the exposure increases, it is correct. So, according to the theory I told you earlier, when it's a certain part, do I have to believe this? Should I not believe it? ’ Rather than that judgment standard, I keep believing in what I want to believe over and over again. Then it's what we call polarization, which we're very afraid of. I can say that those parts are a very big side effect of enjoying our daily lives in the media.

◇ Choi Hwi: So you pointed out a polarizing political YouTube broadcast that encourages hatred and confirmation bias. Also, if you look at the recent situation, some YouTube channels that make extreme arguments about this emergency rule and impeachment defend the legitimacy of martial law. These political YouTubes seem to be making more and more extreme claims. What do you think is the reason for this? You told me about the number of views earlier.

◆ Yoo Hyun-jae: I'd like to describe it as a business model. In fact, of course, we have to sit down and talk, but what is the purpose? I really want to ask you that. But among many of those objectives, the question remains if you're going to continue to move like that when you stop the profit or take out the financial gains. So we can't know all the algorithms inside out. How do we know the algorithm of YouTube? But if you look at the aspect that comes out now, the more extreme it spreads, and the more extreme it is, the stronger the ring is. Then, even with the same story, as I said earlier, if you can infer the best way to ride the algorithm, you can do this side or that side. Or bring it up again and continue to mass produce conspiracy theories even though we've clearly received judicial judgment. Then, some of you will go crazy. This is a different area, but there is an 80-20 rule of marketing. the eight-to-two principle What this is like is that 80% of sales are repeated by 20% of customers, making money. So they keep supplying what loyal people want to hear, and then they get paid, and if there's a yellow label or something like that, they keep getting Super Chat, right? Then, as we all know, all the YouTube channels that receive the most Super Chat in the world are in Korea. So what kind of side effects are these things causing? And I don't know if it's real, but I think it's very difficult to see the media as these aspects of making money by continuing to make people hard on things that aren't real.

◇ Choi Hwi: The more extreme and stimulating arguments are made, the more enthusiastic people with the same political orientation become. Also, if the number of views is high, this leads to profits.

◆ Yoo Hyunjae: It's directly connected. That's right.

◇ Choi Hwi: As a result of this situation, there are growing calls for strengthening sanctions on large-scale current affairs YouTube broadcasts. Is there any way to stop it? Can't we include it as a media arbitration target?

◆ Yoo Hyun-jae: I went to the Media Arbitration Committee last week and gave a presentation, but I have a lot of worries. So now, the law is made and something realistic should be reflected, but it's not easy to follow the pace at which the media is developing like this. That's why we talk about 'informationonomy'. Isn't the Media Arbitration Committee now running YouTube by established media companies? Then, it was set as the subject of arbitration deliberation. But then, whether we say so-called influencers or YouTube, there is a problem that the law needs to be changed in order to be subject to sanctions against them. So, the media and for example, on YouTube, we often say, "I watched YouTube broadcasts." ’ Don't you say it like this? But there's a catchphrase, "I watched the YouTube broadcast." The general public says it all, but it's not subject to the broadcasting law. In that case, it is not easy for state agencies to move any information that is incorrect related to the fact. Because of these side effects, it's actually a European case.In fact, there should be a law that only exists in Korea. In Europe, if you look at the Network Enforcement Act or the Digital Service Act, if you read the provisions, if you have a certain level of subscribers or if you have a certain influence on social media, you sometimes hold the platform very cruel responsibility. So personally, I think we should do that, too. Now, in fact, it's the media. "No." If the first thing to do is to make some adjustments to these things, the second thing is if it's very influential. Then, whether it's the Media Arbitration Committee or some other regulatory agency, I hope that some devices and laws that can restrict content come out quickly.

◇ [Choi Hwi] I see. You also told me about overseas cases. He said that we need a device to sanction them with this law.

◆ Yoo Hyun-jae: Because we can't impose sanctions without the law.

◇ Choi Hwi: You mentioned earlier that the professor attended a recent discussion on this topic and gave a presentation himself. I heard that you mentioned that you need a law that is unique to Korea considering the media environment in Korea. You said that if the current situation continues, very scary results can occur. What is the worst possible scenario if there is no regulation like now?

◆ Yoo Hyunjae: I think I can give wings to YouTubers. I'm slowly like that, too.Don't you think AI comes out every time? Then, in the past, I was a little unfamiliar with AI, and I just used one or two. Not long ago, I open three or four of them and use them together. But how much do they use and how well do they use? If this happens, the AI will double, triple, or quadruple the productivity related to such content. Then if they make money, And with the same purpose as now, and any laws related to the media are a little ambiguous, so there is no way not to use deepfakes. And if we continue to use AI to produce and upload content, we don't have a proper law now, and there are so many YouTube videos that continue to dance between the Broadcasting Act and the Information and Communication Network Act. Then, when that mechanical problem is solved, as I said earlier, it plays a role in giving a very big wing. Then, after a few years, I'm a little cautious about these predictions. Wouldn't it be really serious then if it becomes something meaningless beyond being very confused about which is true and which is false? Then in the end, the last thing left is popularity, money to them, Super Chat, and so on. I told you that if it becomes a standard for value judgment, it will be a media environment that is much more confusing than now. That's what I emphasize is that this is only in Korea. It is freely owned by a lot of IT-related people only in Korea. Everyone has a smartphone, and then it's a networking and hyperconnected society, right? Then there really should be a law that fits the best hyperconnected society in the world. When I give a presentation, sometimes I feel a little ashamed to introduce a law related to Europe like this as an example. So in that regard, I think it would be nice if related laws in Korea and laws that are unique to Korea would come out soon.

◇ Choi Hwi: Is there any temporary suspension or blocking of YouTube channels that regularly broadcast this fake news abroad?

◆ Yoo Hyunjae: There is. If you look at the "Network Enforcement Act" that I mentioned earlier, we're like that, too.Isn't there a certain virtue written about the lines that should not be and should not be crossed very sensitive to that country and society? In the case of Germany, for example, hate will be like that. Something to do with the Nazis. If you commit such issues and then ask the platform to take responsibility, you will be fined beyond your imagination. Of course, those things are strictly followed by the law. This is a bit of a different matter. The reason is that as some platform operators know, they are abroad, so they are not 100% protected, but it plays a very important role in the society. Then, the role of the nudge is so important because it's so powerful. We have some legal sanctions. If you say '', all members of the society become monitoring teams. 'This is very bad, but it can't be like this. When something like ' enters the YouTube world, you can say that you're actually a business operator or you're a criminal who continues to create the news called false fabrication. I think there can be a very practical cultural climate that can impose some restrictions on those people. So, as I said earlier, there is a little bit of overstatement, some resistance, and a debate related to freedom of expression is expected, but nevertheless, when you spread obvious false fabricated news and information, it can be a punishment. There were some laws that demanded compensation.I think it would be nice to make something without continuing to be moored or discarded.

◇ Choi Hwi: Yes. Thank you for your words today. Thank you.

◆ Thank you. Yes, thank you for your hard work.

◇ Choi Hwi: This has been Yoo Hyunjae, professor of communication at Sogang University.