YouTube Video Hosting as a Means of Forming Public Opinion of Russian Youth

Abstract

The Internet is of great importance for shaping (and manipulating) the public opinion of young people. This is a means of communication, especially during the pandemic period, when “live” communication, interaction is reduced to a minimum. During this period, the problem of the reliability of information provided by a particular social network appears. Today, YouTube.com video hosting has become one of the main competitors to television and has gained a billionth audience. YouTube’s main audience is youth aged 18 to 34. The studyconducted in 2019 in Yekaterinburg used a quantitative — online questionnaire method (n = 660) and a qualitative strategy (n = 5). The article deals with questions about the types of information consumed by young people, the degree of trust in YouTube, the skills of analyzing information, the means of forming and manipulating of youth’s public opinion.