Beyond the Call for Transparency: YouTube's Recommendation Algorithm Reconsidered

Abstract: For some years now, YouTube's algorithm has faced significant criticism for its lack of transparency. A substantial body of research has emerged in response to this critique, aiming, from a media-educational perspective, to uncover the operational mechanisms and ideological biases that govern the selection of targeted content displayed on users' screens. Building on the imperative of transparency—specifically, the need to make the algorithm's operating principles visible—this article seeks to explore an alternative approach to understanding the algorithm. Rather than merely advocating for the transparency of its mechanisms, this perspective reconsiders the algorithm as a producer of new forms of visibility, specifically through the creation of iconological links between the materials it organizes, moving beyond its inherent opacity.