BreadTube
BreadTube or LeftTube is a loose and informal group of online content creators who create video content, including
The New York Times author Kevin Roose wrote that BreadTube creators employ a method he calls "algorithmic hijacking".[8] This method involves them choosing to focus on the same topics discussed by content creators with right-wing politics, as a means for enabling their videos to be recommended to the same audiences consuming right-wing or far-right videos,[8] thereby exposing a wider audience to their perspectives.[7]
Many BreadTube content creators are crowdfunded, and their channels often serve as introductions to left-wing politics for young viewers.[9]
BreadTube creators align with
Origin
The term BreadTube derives from
The BreadTube phenomenon itself does not have a clear origin, although many BreadTube channels started in an effort to combat anti-
Format
BreadTube videos frequently have a high production value, incorporating theatrical elements and running for longer than typical YouTube videos.[1][2] Many are direct responses to right-wing talking points.[7] Whereas right-wing and cyberlibertarian creators' videos are usually antagonistic towards their political opponents, many BreadTubers seek to analyze and understand their opponents' arguments, often employing subversion, humor, and "seduction".[7][16] Many aim to appeal to broad audiences, reaching people who do not already hold left-wing viewpoints rather than "preaching to the choir".[7] Videos often do not end with a solid conclusion, instead encouraging viewers to come to their own conclusions from the referenced material.[7] As BreadTube channels often cite left-wing and socialist texts to inform their arguments, this can act as an introduction to left-wing thought for their viewers.[9]
Notable channels
BreadTube content is in
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."[13] According to The Independent, BreadTube "commentators have been trying, quite successfully, to intervene in the right-wing recruitment narrative – lifting viewers out of the rabbit-hole, or, at least, shifting them over to a new one."[18]
Black BreadTube content creator Kat Blaque has criticized the lack of black content creators within BreadTube and argues that black content creators are marginalized within BreadTube.[6] BreadTube content creator Kyle Kulinski argued that infighting within BreadTube has left the community "politically impotent and ineffectual."[6]
Beatrice Steele of The Oxford Student criticized BreadTube for being "too marginal to make a real-world difference, despite its rich personalities and popular video essays" due to not "having the intergenerational reach of channels like Fox News, or the Daily Wire's ability to rack up clicks on Facebook." Steele also argued that BreadTube "lacks the incendiary potential of cynicism."[22]
See also
References
- ^ a b Williams, Wil (June 1, 2021). "The video essays that spawned an entire YouTube genre". Polygon. Archived from the original on August 11, 2021. Retrieved August 11, 2021.
- ^ CTVNews. Archivedfrom 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. Archived from the original on July 3, 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. Archived from the original on September 12, 2020. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
- ^ S2CID 247560346.
- ^ from the original on July 3, 2020. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
- ^ from the original on May 22, 2021. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-5297-5274-8.
- ^ Roose, Kevin (February 12, 2020). "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.
- ^ from the original on July 4, 2020. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
- 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.
- ^ from the original on November 19, 2021. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
- ^ Maughan, Philip (April 14, 2021). "The World According to ContraPoints". Highsnobiety. Archived from the original on April 29, 2022. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
- ^ Cross, Katherine (August 24, 2018). "The Oscar Wilde of YouTube fights the alt-right with decadence and seduction". The Verge. Archived from the original on February 11, 2023. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
- ^ Koenigsdorff, Simon (January 13, 2020). "Youtube: Auf der anderen Seite die linken Influencer". Teilchen (in German). Archived from the original on July 3, 2020. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
- ^ a b c d Ellingham, Miles (January 17, 2021). "The rise of BreadTube: The battle for the soul of the internet". The Independent. Archived from the original on January 17, 2021. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Steele, Beatrice (October 26, 2021). "'BreadTube': irrelevant to power?". The Oxford Student. Archived from the original on September 29, 2022. Retrieved September 29, 2022.