The popular video platform, YouTube, announced a new feature to counter the popular theories and other scientifically-inaccurate videos about COVID-19. They had been using fact-check pop-up alerts whenever users would type in a search prompt that tends to lead to misinformation
They call them “fact-check information panels” and each one links to third-party articles that disprove some of the videos that allegedly hold information about the coronavirus. YouTube implemented measures to detain the spread of the wide array of conspiracy theories that have been popping up ever since the pandemic. Some of these include the rumors about 5G signals being somehow related to the virus and videos about false cures or remedies.
A Pew Research study published in 2018 stated that YouTube is the second most used social media platform US adults use as a resource to get information. Knowing that, in my opinion, they should have implemented measures like these before. I imagine they didn’t do it because it might seem annoying or set its users off. Nevertheless, now we know it is possible for them to apply similar features into their platform and play a more active role against the spread of misinformation, not just hide behind the Terms and Policies.
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