YouTube Will Label Videos on Mail Voting to Blunt Misinformation
YouTube Will Label Videos on Mail Voting to Blunt Misinformation
(Bloomberg) -- YouTube will now treat videos about mail-in voting the same as footage on climate change or 9/11, another attempt from the social media giant to mitigate misinformation ahead of the contentious U.S. presidential election.
Videos that discuss mail-in voting will include text and links on electoral law from a think tank, the Bipartisan Policy Center, YouTube said Thursday in a blog post. U.S. President Donald Trump has suggested that mail ballots would lead to massive voter fraud, although there is no evidence for this. YouTube, part of Alphabet Inc.’s Google, previously released several rules on election-related videos, including policies to remove media that “aims to mislead” viewers about voting.
YouTube has tried to balance its work combating conspiracies with charges of political bias. The site’s solution has been to place information panels on videos about certain “borderline” content, such as inaccurate claims about Covid-19. YouTube said it also limits recommendations on these videos to select channels from news stations and expert groups.
Currently, one of the most popular YouTube videos about mail-in ballots comes from Fox News. In the May clip, Fox host Tucker Carlson suggests that Democrats are removing “every remaining barrier to voter fraud” with the promotion of voting by mail.
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