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YouTube’s UK Anorexia Algorithm: How YouTube recommends eating disorder videos to young girls in the UK

Posted on February 03, 2025 in News releases.

  • The Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) investigated YouTube and its algorithm in the UK and discovered how troubling recommendations are shown to simulated 13-year-old users who watch a video about eating disorders for the first time.
  • YouTube is actively pushing eating disorder content — 1 in 4 videos recommended to a simulated 13-year-old girl’s account used in the study contained harmful eating disorder content.
  • YouTube’s policies prohibit some types of eating disorder content, yet our research indicates the platform profits from ads next to harmful eating disorder videos.
  • YouTube failed to act on 74% of harmful eating disorder videos within two weeks of being reported to the platform.
  • “Every day this content is allowed to circulate, accelerated by powerful recommendation engines, more and more children are carelessly and unnecessarily put at risk,” said Imran Ahmed, CEO of CCDH.

WASHINGTON, D.C., February 3rd, 2025 – YouTube is actively pushing harmful eating disorder content to vulnerable adolescents in the UK.

In a new report, the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) investigated YouTube and its algorithm in the UK for how recommendations are pushed to a fictional 13-year-old user who watches a video about eating disorders for the first time.

Researchers created a new YouTube account presenting as a 13-year-old girl based in the UK who watches a video about eating disorders. CCDH analyzed a total of 100 recommendations collected using this approach. The UK report’s findings are troublingly consistent with another current CCDH study about YouTube video recommendations in the EU as well as a recent CCDH study analyzing 1,000 videos presented to simulated users based in the United States.

Videos were sorted into the following categories:

  • Harmful eating disorder content breaching YouTube’s policies
  • Other eating disorder content
  • Weight loss content
  • Unrelated content

1 in 4 videos were about harmful eating disorder content — content that directly violates YouTube’s policies.

Example eating disorder trends recommended by YouTube:

  • Anorexia Boot Camp — videos detailing a 30-day food regime with daily limits of 0-500 calories intended to induce anorexia
  • Thinspo and skeletal imagery — videos featuring emaciated bodies to inspire thinness
  • What I Eat in a Day — videos showcasing the daily eating habits of those with eating disorders, often depicting extreme calorie restriction

When these videos were flagged through the platform’s reporting system, YouTube failed to act on 17 out of a sample of 23 (74%) of harmful eating disorder videos within two weeks of them being reported to the platform.

In addition to promoting these troubling topics, YouTube is actively hosting advertising from global brands next to videos about eating disorders. Ads from Ralph Lauren and L’Oreal were displayed.

Imran Ahmed, CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate, said:

“YouTube is profiting by preying on vulnerable children. Young people are impressionable, and YouTube’s decision to not only host but promote this content next to high-profile advertisers is reprehensible and potentially deadly.”

“YouTube has long been a popular place where children and young adults find content. The company’s failure to enforce its own policies despite their claims to specifically protect children from exactly this kind of content, represents a gross failure of duty and an abdication of good corporate citizenship. It is clearer than ever that companies will not self-regulate. YouTube is yet another clear example of why we need to raise awareness and alert young people and their families to the dangers of using these platforms, as we press for greater transparency and accountability.”

“Social media platforms now have an opportunity to demonstrate they are serious about preventing eating disorder and self-harm content from being seen by children. This is a priority of the Online Safety Act, and the codes are coming. YouTube and other platforms should show good faith and get ahead of regulatory implementation.”

“Every day this content is allowed to circulate, accelerated by powerful recommendation engines, more and more children are put at risk. It is time to put an end to a perverse system that encourages profit at the expense of our children.”

Tom Quinn, Director of External Affairs at Beat, said:

“It’s incredibly worrying that harmful content is being relentlessly pushed out to vulnerable young people. It’s even more concerning that YouTube doesn’t appear to be acting on removing the content, and in some cases is profiting from it. Whilst so-called “pro-ana” content won’t cause an eating disorder on its own, it could exacerbate existing symptoms or cause those affected to copy the harmful behaviours they see, making them more unwell. People have also reported feeling compelled to watch content like this when it appears, particularly if it does so without warning.

“We know that YouTube and other social media platforms can be a great source of comfort for our community, and creators and channels who champion recovery can be a real force for good. YouTube should be a safe space, not somewhere where people are exposed to more risk. We urge YouTube to remove this content immediately, introduce immediate safeguards to ensure that harmful content is stopped before it’s uploaded, and to ensure paid advertisements are not being placed on these kinds of videos”

Notes to Editor:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Here is the link for the full UK report, we also invite you to follow this link to read the EU report.

To arrange an interview please contact [email protected]