According to both experts, the trend of ‘starting your own journal’ connects seamlessly with that of the so-called filter bubble. That means that people on social media get to see more and more of the same thing, because algorithms are set up to do most views in clicks to generate. Visitors can therefore end up in a spiral of one-sided information.
More polarization
“It’s no news when I say this is a pretty tricky development,” says Drayer. For example, the National Coordinator for Counterterrorism and Security (NCTV) concluded last month that the polarization in society has increased again. For example, in the area of the anti-racism debate and the government’s approach to the corona crisis, tensions between supporters and opponents are increasing, with social media and the internet as catalysts.
Good journalism and showing both sides of a discussion can be a remedy for polarization. But both Wijfjes and Drayer have not yet seen this in the series of journals mentioned on YouTube. “The name ‘journal’ gives the illusion that journalism is really being practiced,” says Drayer. “But that’s nonsense, they just want to get their own message across.”
‘Call Horn Journalism’
Media expert Wijfjes gives it the qualification “horny journalism”. He also points out that most videos are definitely not viewing number guns. It SP Journal attracts several thousand viewers, SGP Studio a few hundred and Maurice de Hond’s corona news between hundreds and a few tens of thousands. It FvD Journal scores best with tens of thousands to nearly a hundred thousand viewers per episode.
Ultimately, according to Wijfjes, the journals are mainly a way to reach a different target group. “In the commercials of the Broadcast Time for Political Parties, parties hardly put any effort into it. YouTube is full of new viewers, especially young people and slightly older people, who drop out of the mainstream media.”
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