YouTube Favors Russian Over Kyrgyz for Children's Content

A study of nearly 11,000 YouTube searches shows the platform's system treats Russian as the default language in Kyrgyzstan, even when users search in Kyrgyz. Children looking for content in their native language often find nothing or Russian alternatives instead. This bias pushes more children toward Russian content, risking the future of Kyrgyz, a language spoken by 4.5 million people.