More than 80 fact-checking organizations are calling on YouTube for what they say is misinformation rampant on the platform.
in a letter Published Wednesday to CEO Susan Wojcicki, the groups say the Google-owned video platform is “one of the leading mediums of online disinformation and misinformation around the world.”
He says that YouTube’s efforts to solve the problem are proving insufficient.
“What we don’t see is a lot of effort by YouTube to implement policies that address the problem,” the letter said. In contrast, YouTube is allowing its platform to be used by unscrupulous actors to manipulate and exploit others and to arm themselves with systematization and fundraising.
The problem, these groups said, is particularly pervasive in non-English-speaking countries and the Global South.
Fact Checkers are all members of the International Fact Checking Network and include Rappers in the Philippines, AfricaCheck in France, Science Feedback in France, and dozens of other groups. He lambasted YouTube, saying it discusses disinformation as a “false dichotomy” of whether or not to remove content.
Displaying fact-checked information is more effective than removing material, the fact checkers wrote.
He proposes that YouTube focus on providing context and debunks that are “explicitly superimposed” on the video. He also called on YouTube to take action against repeat violators and intensify efforts against misinformation in languages other than English.
In a statement, YouTube spokeswoman Elena Hernandez said that the company “has invested heavily in policies and products in all the countries we serve to connect people to official content, reduce the spread of borderline misinformation and prevent infringing.” Operate to delete the video.”
He called fact checking “an important tool to help audiences make their own informed decisions,” but added that it is “one piece of a much larger puzzle to address the spread of misinformation.”
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