Monetization of Youtube Conspiracy Theorists

Cameron Ballard joins us today to discuss his work around YouTube conspiracy theories. He revealed interesting observations about conspiracy theories on YouTube including how predatory ads are most common in conspiracy theory videos and how YouTube’s algorithm subtly works for predatory ads.

Guest

Cameron Ballard: Cameron Ballard is currently completing his PhD in computer science at NYU Tandon’s Center for Cybersecurity. His current work focuses on the sociotechnical implications of social media, especially applying data science methods to understand the financial ecosystem behind online disinformation. Before joining the Center for Cybersecurity, Cameron completed his undergraduate degree at NYU Shanghai, and stayed after graduation to research 3D teleconferencing. In addition to his academic pursuits, Cameron co-founded Raditube, a research tool to study disinformation and radicalization on YouTube.