BreadTube: Difference between revisions
Content deleted Content added
change descriptor to video essays per talk page |
|||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{short description|Pseudo-group of left-wing YouTubers}} |
{{short description|Pseudo-group of left-wing YouTubers}} |
||
{{use mdy dates |date=December 2020}}'''BreadTube''', or '''LeftTube''', is a term used to refer to a loose and informal group of online content creators that |
{{use mdy dates |date=December 2020}}'''BreadTube''', or '''LeftTube''', is a term used to refer to a loose and informal group of online content creators that create [[video essay]]s<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.polygon.com/22417320/best-video-essays-youtube-history|title=The video essays that spawned an entire YouTube genre|work=[[Polygon (website)|Polygon]]|last=Williams|first=Wil|date=1 June 2021|accessdate=11 August 2021}}</ref> from [[socialism|socialist]], [[Communism|communist]], [[Anarchism|anarchist]], and other [[Left-wing politics|left-wing]] perspectives.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|last=Somos|first=Christy|date=2019-10-25|title=Dismantling the 'Alt-Right Playbook': YouTuber explains how online radicalization works|url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/dismantling-the-alt-right-playbook-youtuber-explains-how-online-radicalization-works-1.4655174|access-date=2020-07-03|website=[[CTVNews]]|language=en|archive-date=February 15, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200215011000/https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/dismantling-the-alt-right-playbook-youtuber-explains-how-online-radicalization-works-1.4655174|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web|last=Alexander|first=Julia|date=2020-01-31|title=Carlos Maza is back on YouTube and ready to fight|url=https://www.theverge.com/tech/2020/1/31/21112724/carlos-maza-steven-crowder-vox-youtube-harassment-policies-breadtube|access-date=2020-07-03|website=[[The Verge]]|language=en|archive-date=July 31, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200731142040/https://www.theverge.com/tech/2020/1/31/21112724/carlos-maza-steven-crowder-vox-youtube-harassment-policies-breadtube|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-01-13|title=Youtube: Auf der anderen Seite die linken Influencer|url=https://blog.zeit.de/teilchen/2020/01/13/youtube-influencer-linke-social-media/|access-date=2020-07-03|website=[[Die Zeit]]|language=de-DE}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web|last=Citarella|first=Joshua|date=2020-09-12|title=Marxist memes for TikTok teens: can the internet radicalize teenagers for the left?|url=http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/sep/12/marxist-memes-tiktok-teens-radical-left|url-status=live|access-date=2021-08-08|website=the Guardian|language=en}}</ref> BreadTube creators generally post videos on [[YouTube]] that are discussed on other online platforms, such as [[Reddit]].<ref name=TripleC>{{Cite journal|last1=Kuznetsov|first1=Dmitry|last2=Ismangil|first2=Milan|date=2020-01-13|title=YouTube as Praxis? On BreadTube and the Digital Propagation of Socialist Thought|url=https://www.triple-c.at/index.php/tripleC/article/view/1128|journal=[[TripleC: Communication, Capitalism & Critique]]|language=en-US|volume=18|issue=1|pages=204–218|doi=10.31269/triplec.v18i1.1128|issn=1726-670X|doi-access=free|access-date=July 3, 2020|archive-date=July 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200703232456/https://www.triple-c.at/index.php/tripleC/article/view/1128|url-status=live}}</ref> |
||
BreadTube creators are known to participate in a form of "algorithmic hijacking".<ref name=":4">{{Cite news|last=Roose|first=Kevin|date=2019-06-08|title=The Making of a YouTube Radical (Published 2019)|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/06/08/technology/youtube-radical.html|url-status=live|access-date=2021-06-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210522212633/https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/06/08/technology/youtube-radical.html|archive-date=2021-05-22|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> They will choose to focus on the same topics discussed by content creators with [[right-wing politics]]. This enables their videos to be recommended to the same audiences consuming far-right videos,<ref name=":4" /> and thereby expose a wider audience to their perspectives.<ref name="TripleC" /> Many BreadTube content creators are funded through [[crowdfunding]], and the channels often serve as introductions to [[left-wing politics]] for young viewers. |
BreadTube creators are known to participate in a form of "algorithmic hijacking".<ref name=":4">{{Cite news|last=Roose|first=Kevin|date=2019-06-08|title=The Making of a YouTube Radical (Published 2019)|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/06/08/technology/youtube-radical.html|url-status=live|access-date=2021-06-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210522212633/https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/06/08/technology/youtube-radical.html|archive-date=2021-05-22|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> They will choose to focus on the same topics discussed by content creators with [[right-wing politics]]. This enables their videos to be recommended to the same audiences consuming far-right videos,<ref name=":4" /> and thereby expose a wider audience to their perspectives.<ref name="TripleC" /> Many BreadTube content creators are funded through [[crowdfunding]], and the channels often serve as introductions to [[left-wing politics]] for young viewers. |
||
Revision as of 13:20, 11 August 2021
BreadTube, or LeftTube, is a term used to refer to a loose and informal group of online content creators that create video essays[1] from socialist, communist, anarchist, and other left-wing perspectives.[2][3][4][5] BreadTube creators generally post videos on YouTube that are discussed on other online platforms, such as Reddit.[6]
BreadTube creators are known to participate in a form of "algorithmic hijacking".[7] They will choose to focus on the same topics discussed by content creators with right-wing politics. This enables their videos to be recommended to the same audiences consuming far-right videos,[7] and thereby expose a wider audience to their perspectives.[6] Many BreadTube content creators are funded through crowdfunding, and the channels often serve as introductions to left-wing politics for young viewers.
Origin
The term BreadTube comes from Peter Kropotkin's The Conquest of Bread,[8][9][10] a book explaining how to achieve anarcho-communism and how an anarcho-communist society would function.
The BreadTube movement itself does not have a clear origin, although many BreadTube channels started in an effort to combat anti-social justice warrior content that gained traction in the mid 2010s.[11] Two prominent early BreadTubers were Lindsay Ellis, who left Channel Awesome in 2015 to start her channel in response to the Gamergate controversy, and Natalie Wynn, who started her channel ContraPoints in 2016 in response to the online dominance of the alt-right at the time.[9] According to Wynn, the origins of BreadTube as well as the alt-right can be traced back to New Atheism.[12]
Notable channels
The term is informal and often disputed, as there are no agreed-upon criteria for inclusion. According to The New Republic, in 2019, the five people most commonly mentioned as examples are ContraPoints, Lindsay Ellis, Hbomberguy, Philosophy Tube, and Shaun, while Kat Blaque and Anita Sarkeesian are cited as significant influences.[5][9] Ian Danskin (aka Innuendo Studios),[2] Hasan Piker,[5][13] and Steven Bonnell[7][13] have also been described as part of BreadTube. Several of these people have rejected the label.[14][15][16]
Funding
Many BreadTubers are funded primarily by monthly donations from fans on Patreon and refuse income from advertising and sponsorships. As they are not dependent on such income, BreadTubers have more freedom to produce critical content which can act as an introduction to leftist ideas.[17]
Reception
According to The Conversation, as of 2021, BreadTube content creators "receive tens of millions of views a month and have been increasingly referenced in media and academia as a case study in deradicalisation."[11]
References
- ^ Williams, Wil (June 1, 2021). "The video essays that spawned an entire YouTube genre". Polygon. Retrieved August 11, 2021.
- ^ a b Somos, Christy (October 25, 2019). "Dismantling the 'Alt-Right Playbook': YouTuber explains how online radicalization works". CTVNews. Archived from the original on February 15, 2020. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
- ^ Alexander, Julia (January 31, 2020). "Carlos Maza is back on YouTube and ready to fight". The Verge. Archived from the original on July 31, 2020. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
- ^ "Youtube: Auf der anderen Seite die linken Influencer". Die Zeit (in German). January 13, 2020. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
- ^ a b c Citarella, Joshua (September 12, 2020). "Marxist memes for TikTok teens: can the internet radicalize teenagers for the left?". the Guardian. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b Kuznetsov, Dmitry; Ismangil, Milan (January 13, 2020). "YouTube as Praxis? On BreadTube and the Digital Propagation of Socialist Thought". TripleC: Communication, Capitalism & Critique. 18 (1): 204–218. doi:10.31269/triplec.v18i1.1128. ISSN 1726-670X. Archived from the original on July 3, 2020. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
- ^ a b c Roose, Kevin (June 8, 2019). "The Making of a YouTube Radical (Published 2019)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on May 22, 2021. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
- ^ "A Thorn in YouTube's Side Digs In Even Deeper". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
- ^ a b c Amin, Shaan (July 2, 2019). "Can the Left Win YouTube?". The New Republic. ISSN 0028-6583. Archived from the original on July 4, 2020. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
- ^ "Three: Mirror Image". The New York Times. April 30, 2020. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on July 3, 2020. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
- ^ a b Lee, Alexander Mitchell (March 8, 2021). "Meet BreadTube, the YouTube activists trying to beat the far-right at their own game". The Conversation. Archived from the original on June 30, 2021. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
- ^ Maughan, Philip (April 14, 2021). "The World According to ContraPoints". Highsnobiety. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b Ellingham, Miles (January 17, 2021). "The road to BreadTube: The battle for the soul of the internet". The Independent. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Lindsay Ellis [@thelindsayellis] (November 10, 2020). "Someone tell this person that breadtube isn't a thing" (Tweet). Archived from the original on April 24, 2021 – via Twitter.
- ^ Shaun [@shaun_vids] (March 25, 2020). "do not send me messages about 'breadtube' drama. or 'breadtube' generally. its a fake group with arbitrary, subjective membership" (Tweet). Archived from the original on March 11, 2021 – via Twitter.
- ^ Natalie Wynn [@ContraPoints] (February 23, 2021). "I encourage my audience to drop the label "BreadTube"" (Tweet). Archived from the original on April 24, 2021 – via Twitter.
- ^ Christian, Fuchs (2021). Social Media: A Critical Introduction (3rd ed.). Sage Publications. pp. 199–200. ISBN 1-5297-5274-4.