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BreadTube

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BreadTube, or LeftTube, is a term used to refer to a loose and informal group of online content creators that provide editorial opinions[1][2] and educational lectures from socialist, communist, anarchist, and other left-wing perspectives.[1][2][3] BreadTube creators generally post videos on YouTube that are discussed on other online platforms, such as Reddit.[4]

BreadTube creators are known to participate in a form of "algorithmic hijacking".[5] They will choose to focus on the same topics discussed by content creators with right-wing politics. This enables their videos to be recommended to the same audiences consuming far-right videos,[5] and thereby expose a wider audience to their perspectives.[4] Many BreadTube content creators are funded through crowdfunding, and the channels often serve as introductions to left-wing politics for young viewers.[citation needed]

Origin

The term BreadTube comes from Peter Kropotkin's The Conquest of Bread,[6][7][8] a book explaining how to achieve anarcho-communism and how an anarcho-communist society would function.

The BreadTube movement itself does not have a clear origin, although many BreadTube channels started in an effort to combat anti-social justice warrior content that gained traction in the mid 2010s.[9]

Notable channels

The term is informal and often disputed, as there are no agreed-upon criteria for inclusion. According to The New Republic, in 2019, the five people most commonly mentioned as examples are Natalie Wynn, Lindsay Ellis, Harry Brewis, Abigail Thorn, and Shaun, while Kat Blaque and Anita Sarkeesian are cited as significant influences.[7] Ian Danskin[1] and Steven Bonnell[5] have also been described as part of BreadTube. Several of these people have rejected the label.[10][11][12]

Reception

According to The Conversation, as of 2021, BreadTube content creators "receive tens of millions of views a month and have been increasingly referenced in media and academia as a case study in deradicalisation."[9]

References

  1. ^ a b c Somos, Christy (October 25, 2019). "Dismantling the 'Alt-Right Playbook': YouTuber explains how online radicalization works". CTVNews. Archived from the original on February 15, 2020. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
  2. ^ a b Alexander, Julia (January 31, 2020). "Carlos Maza is back on YouTube and ready to fight". The Verge. Archived from the original on July 31, 2020. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
  3. ^ "Youtube: Auf der anderen Seite die linken Influencer". Die Zeit (in German). January 13, 2020. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
  4. ^ a b 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): 204–218. doi:10.31269/triplec.v18i1.1128. ISSN 1726-670X. Archived from the original on July 3, 2020. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
  5. ^ a b c 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.
  6. ^ "A Thorn in YouTube's Side Digs In Even Deeper". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
  7. ^ a b Amin, Shaan (July 2, 2019). "Can the Left Win YouTube?". The New Republic. ISSN 0028-6583. Archived from the original on July 4, 2020. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
  8. ^ "Three: Mirror Image". The New York Times. April 30, 2020. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on July 3, 2020. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
  9. ^ a b Lee, Alexander Mitchell (March 8, 2021). "Meet BreadTube, the YouTube activists trying to beat the far-right at their own game". The Conversation. Archived from the original on June 30, 2021. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  10. ^ Lindsay Ellis [@thelindsayellis] (November 10, 2020). "Someone tell this person that breadtube isn't a thing" (Tweet). Archived from the original on April 24, 2021 – via Twitter.
  11. ^ Shaun [@shaun_vids] (March 25, 2020). "do not send me messages about 'breadtube' drama. or 'breadtube' generally. its a fake group with arbitrary, subjective membership" (Tweet). Archived from the original on March 11, 2021 – via Twitter.
  12. ^ Natalie Wynn [@ContraPoints] (February 23, 2021). "I encourage my audience to drop the label "BreadTube"" (Tweet). Archived from the original on April 24, 2021 – via Twitter.
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