How Youtube has been corporatized, and its alternatives

[danniel]

Not only the fact, the entire platform is regulated almost entirely by AI, the channels are also one of the YT feels lifeless. 
AI pushes slop, even if it extremely radical and full of hate, as long as the number under engagement is high and if there is no actual hate word used.

Now this, corporate buying already built YT channels (some examples are given already) but many are not. Political creators are the easy target of being bought as they usually work of "divide and rule" or fear instillment. 

Personally I recommend using alternative front ends of YT, like 
1. Newpipe
2. Invidious
3. Piped

For android users, REvanced Youtube  is the easiest of choices. One can create a setting where the shorts do not pop up entirely on the app, also there are no ads. These aren't bad per say, they are open sourced frontends

for YT Music, or Music app in general, OpenTune, is the best, but also for android users only, open sourced YT Music app. You can play/stream any video in MP3 format without ads.

These are some recommendations for one to have more control over the media they consume. Especially now when every major mainstream platform is about engagement, they are built to keep you hooked.