YouTube is a platform used with increasing frequency for spreading disinformation and fake news. Confirmation comes from one open letter published by 80 “fact checker” associationsIncluding Full Fact in the UK and Washington Post’s Fact Checker. In that letter, the authors invite YouTube to act to counter the spread of fake news through the platform.
YouTube should do more to counter disinformation and fake news
According to the associations that signed the open letter, YouTube would be too permissive to whom disinformation goes and spreads fake news. The measures taken to combat the phenomenon would be totally insufficient. In the open letter disseminated online oggi, YouTube is invited to change its policies.
In particular, a contribution is requested to finance independent research on disinformation campaigns and to block, through the algorithm, the spread of repeat offenders. Furthermore, we must act for counteract fake news also in other languages and not just for videos in English.
Furthermore, for videos that make disinformation, YouTube should provide links to useful sources to refute the arguments provided. Misinformation via YouTube would be particularly prevalent in Asia, Africa and South America.
The response of the platform
YouTube did not respond directly to the contents of the open letter. The platform, in an official statement, limited itself to highlighting the progress made in the fight against disinformation and in the removal of videos that violate the platform’s guidelines.