Weapon Modification Content Still Thriving on YouTube
This week, the nonprofit Media Matters for America (MMFA) released a new report identifying over a dozen YouTube videos showing users how to convert weapons into fully automatic firearms, even though these videos are forbidden under the platform’s community guidelines. YouTube first restrictedweapons modification tutorials in the aftermath of the 2017 Las Vegas attack, which was carried out using multiple AR-type rifles modified for automatic fire using bump stocks. Subsequent mass shootings prompted YouTube to tighten its policies further – or at least announce that it had. Unfortunately, announcements don’t always lead to enforcement. According to MMFA’s research, this latest batch of weapons modification videos had been viewed more than 9 million times, and included a monetized video that showed viewers how to “turn any AR into a gatling gun” with an aftermarket “trigger crank.”
While these videos are concerning on their own, they become particularly dangerous when combined with YouTube’s recommendation algorithms, which drive a majority of traffic on the platform. In May of 2023, TTP released a report demonstrating that YouTube was recommending real-life firearms content to accounts registered as young boys interested in gaming, who had not independently sought out this material. TTP noted that many of the videos also violated YouTube’s policies against weapons modification, but that the platform had taken no steps to restrict them.
|
