Featured image of post YouTube is major conduit of fake news, factcheckers say

YouTube is major conduit of fake news, factcheckers say

Platform is not doing enough to tackle spread of falsehoods, claims letter signed by 80 groups

Platform is not doing enough to tackle spread of falsehoods, claims letter signed by 80 groups

Summary

  • YouTube is a major conduit of online disinformation and misinformation worldwide and is not doing enough to tackle the spread of falsehoods on its platform, according to a global coalition of factchecking organisations.
  • “YouTube is allowing its platform to be weaponised by unscrupulous actors to manipulate and exploit others, and to organise and fundraise themselves.
  • Current measures are proving insufficient,” states the letter to YouTube’s chief executive, Susan Wojcicki, which describes YouTube as a “major conduit” for falsehoods.
  • YouTube also points to the top ten countries for removed videos, which is dominated by non-English language-speaking countries such as Vietnam, India and Brazil.
  • A year later, it said it would remove videos that spread misinformation about all vaccines.