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Abstract
This study examines representations of African Americans, Latinos, and Asians in YouTube videos, exploring whether YouTube serves as a type of alternative media where the status quo is contested. Results show that most videos analyzed perpetuated racial stereotypes. Further, videos that included stereotypes, most of which contained user-produced content, were more popular. The authors argue citizens to a large extent use YouTube to perpetuate the same stereotypes found in the mainstream media, rather than use it as an alternative counter-public sphere.
Notes
1Because the YouTube videos were accessed in December 2011, the findings of this study might not be able to reflect the most up-to-date data. However, as mentioned earlier in the article, the recommendation system and popularity-based search function on YouTube usually make the popular content even more popular. Therefore, many popular videos analyzed in this study are still among the most popular videos to date.