Digital Panicinside the circle
Polarisation

TheirTube

2020 By Tomo Kihara
An image of 4 characters which all have a play symbol as the torso. The 4
cartoon characters are: Liberal, Conservative, Conspiracist and Climate
Denier. They are different types of YouTube personas.
Illustrations from “TheirTube” by Tomo Kihara.

Online content on platforms such as YouTube is algorithmically recommended for you based on what you have already viewed. This creates ‘filter bubbles’ that are specific to each user. Over time, being in an information bubble can narrow and reinforce your interests by showing you just one type of content. But what does it look like inside someone else’s bubble? TheirTube allows you to see the feed of six different personas: Conspiracist, Climate Denier, Conservative, Liberal, Prepper and Fruitarian. Does the world start to look different from these perspectives? What content persona would your bubble generate?

A screenshot of TheirTube.
Screenshot taken from their.tube/climate_deniers, TheirTube, by Tomo Kihara.