Lesson 1
Sponsor Hunt
- A lot of content is trying to influence you, but not always in obvious ways.
- Influencers, news sites, YouTubers, even meme pages often have sponsors, products, or agendas behind what they say. Washington Post, for example, is owned by Jeff Bezos, billionaire co-founder of Amazon.
- That doesn't always make the content bad. After all, everybody's gotta put food on the table somehow. Just take a second and ask yourself some questions. Who benefits if I believe this? How do this person's financial incentives influence how/why they're sharing this? What are the motives of the people investing in this?
- Just because media companies in the US aren't government owned doesn't mean that they're always unbiased. They're still beholden to advertiser revenue, sponsorships, etc., meaning that their coverage can be skewed. This is especially true for online content creators, whose revenue often comes exclusively from ad revenue.
- In this lesson, we'll dig into how to spot sponsorships, brand deals, or hidden motivations behind content.
Activity: Watch & Identify
What do you think the financial incentive is in this video? In other words, which parties financially benefit from this video? Where does the money come from?
Possible Correct Answer & Explanation:
The video snippet is from Steven Crowder, a right wing YouTuber and self-proclaimed libertarian conservative known for his "Change My Mind" series of videos. He has a subscription-based media network called "Mug Club" where users can pay for conservative podcasts, videos, and more. He is also partnered with Rumble, which is another source of revenue. See the merch he has on his desk?
Again, to be clear, this doesn't necesarily mean that this information is bad or misleading. It's just good to be aware of the incentives behind the content you're consuming, and how it influences creators. You'd probably be more cautious if you knew that the creator was being paid by a company with a vested interest in the outcome of the video.
The video snippet is from Steven Crowder, a right wing YouTuber and self-proclaimed libertarian conservative known for his "Change My Mind" series of videos. He has a subscription-based media network called "Mug Club" where users can pay for conservative podcasts, videos, and more. He is also partnered with Rumble, which is another source of revenue. See the merch he has on his desk?
Again, to be clear, this doesn't necesarily mean that this information is bad or misleading. It's just good to be aware of the incentives behind the content you're consuming, and how it influences creators. You'd probably be more cautious if you knew that the creator was being paid by a company with a vested interest in the outcome of the video.