BreadTube

loose group of left-wing YouTubers

BreadTube, or LeftTube, is a group of online content creators making videos. They often make video essays[1] and livestreams from left-wing perspectives like socialism, communism or anarchism.[2][3][4][5]

Videos

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BreadTube creators post videos on YouTube that are discussed on other online platforms, like Reddit.[6] Some BreadTube creators livestream on Twitch.[7]

Creators

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Some well-known BreadTube Creators are Vaush, Destiny, Hasan Piker and ContraPoints.


BreadTube creators are known to join in a form of "algorithmic hijacking".[8] They will choose to focus on the same topics discussed by content creators with right-wing politics. This lets their videos being recommended to the same audiences who like right-wing or far-right videos.[8] They can expose their thoughts to a wider audience.[6] Many BreadTube creators are funded through crowdfunding. The channels often serve as introductions to left-wing politics for young viewers.[9]

References

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  1. Williams, Wil (June 1, 2021). "The video essays that spawned an entire YouTube genre". Polygon. Retrieved August 11, 2021.
  2. Somos, Christy (October 25, 2019). "Dismantling the 'Alt-Right Playbook': YouTuber explains how online radicalization works". CTVNews. Toronto. Archived from the original on February 15, 2020. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
  3. Alexander, Julia (January 31, 2020). "Carlos Maza is back on YouTube and ready to fight". The Verge. United States. Archived from the original on July 31, 2020. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
  4. "Youtube: Auf der anderen Seite die linken Influencer". Die Zeit (in German). January 13, 2020. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
  5. 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.
  6. 6.0 6.1 Kuznetsov, Dmitry; Ismangil, Milan (January 13, 2020). "YouTube as Praxis? On BreadTube and the Digital Propagation of Socialist Thought". TripleC: Communication, Capitalism & Critique. 18 (1). United Kingdom: 204–218. doi:10.31269/triplec.v18i1.1128. ISSN 1726-670X. Archived from the original on July 3, 2020. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
  7. 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.
  8. 8.0 8.1 Roose, Kevin (June 8, 2019). "The Making of a YouTube Radical (Published 2019)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on May 22, 2021. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
  9. Fuchs, Christian (2021). Social Media: A Critical Introduction (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications. pp. 199–200. ISBN 978-1-5297-5274-8.