Like other 2.0 platforms, YouTube is by no means immune to disinformation , which has managed to spread like a corrosive virus in recent times on its domains. For this reason, a global group of fact-checkers from 40 countries published a joint letter on Wednesday denouncing that the channel that claims to be the most popular video channel in the world (it has, not in vain, 2.3 billion monthly users) is a breeding ground for "fake news" and is also not doing everything it should to clip the wings of the hoaxes that circulate with impunity on its platform.
Around 80 fact-checking organisations such as Newtral, Maldita and Verificat warn that misinformation is even more prevalent on YouTube since the outbreak of the pandemic, which has multiplied messages against science and vaccines on the Google subsidiary.
"YouTube allows unscrupulous actors to use its platform as a weapon to manipulate and exploit others, and to organize and raise funds ," the fact-checkers who signed the letter denounced.
Among the long list of sins that the authors of the letter have chosen to accuse YouTube of are the dissemination of theories (systematically rejected) that there was supposedly electoral fraud in the November 2020 elections in the United States , anti-vaccine messages, the promotion of false cures for COVID-19 or cancer, and hate speech against ethnic and sexual minorities in countries such as Brazil.
that manage to make their way onto YouTube are spurred on by the platform's own recommendation algorithm.
More contextualization to refute hoaxes and less removal of content
In light of YouTube's serious disinformation problem, fact-checkers a slovenia number data re calling on CEO Susan Wojcicki to act urgently to "improve the platform's information ecosystem."
While Google's parent company has already taken measures against "fake news" (banning videos that promote anti-scientific content or depriving climate change deniers of advertising revenue , for example), fact-checking organizations warn that many channels that spread hoaxes are still active today and do so outside of YouTube's controls.
In this regard, the measures taken so far by YouTube "are not working" and "no quality data has been published to support their effectiveness," say the fact-checkers.
YouTube, the signatory organisations say, has merely removed content rather than providing context with verified information to refute hoaxes , a method that, according to several academic studies, is the most effective in curbing disinformation. “This alternative also preserves freedom of expression while recognising that providing this additional information can mitigate risks to life, health, security and democratic processes,” the fact-checkers insist.
The platform should therefore focus more on contextualisation rather than simply removing videos , and should raise the flag of transparency regarding the “fake news” circulating on its platforms and the measures to curb it. The “fake-checking” groups that signed the letter also ask YouTube to provide support for independent research, to prevent its algorithm from fuelling hoaxes, to take action against repeat disinformation offenders and to extend its fight against disinformation beyond English-language videos.