YouTube has announced it is rolling out its fact checking feature to users in the US after trials in Brazil and India (via TechCrunch).
Because the service cannot necessarily take down misinformative content if it doesn’t flout its rules, YouTube is looking to offer fact check information on the content it will still display.
In the above example, a search for ‘covid and ibuprofen’ brings up a fact check and a debunked claim to assure the searcher of a known truth. The videos below might still display misinformative or conspiratorial content, though.
Announced in a blog post, YouTube said, “The fact check feature expands upon the other ways we raise and connect people with authoritative sources. For example, our Breaking News and Top News shelves help our viewers find information from authoritative sources both on their YouTube homepage and when searching for news topics.”
It goes on to directly address misinformation in the age of the coronavirus pandemic, and acknowledges its responsibility as a public platform:
“We’re now using these panels to help address an additional challenge: Misinformation that comes up quickly as part of a fast-moving news cycle, where unfounded claims and uncertainty about facts are common. (For example, a false report that COVID-19 is a bio-weapon.) Our fact check information panels provide fresh context in these situations by highlighting relevant, third-party fact-checked articles above search results for relevant queries, so that our viewers can make their own informed decision about claims made in the news.”
The company said over a dozen US publishers are on board to help with the scheme including The Dispatch, FactCheck.org, PolitiFact and The Washington Post Fact Checker.
Hopefully, the feature will roll out worldwide when possible.