YouTube recently announced it will now remove videos that dispute Joe Biden's election victory. Initially, when videos came out, the brand let videos making false claims about election results stand, stating: "Like other companies, we’re allowing these videos because discussion of election results & the process of counting votes is allowed on YouTube.”
Nearly a month later, YouTube repelled this decision and has begun removing misleading election videos follows the US’s safe harbor deadline and that “enough states have certified their election results to determine a President-elect.” The media giant is dedicated to supporting the integrity of the 2020 U.S. election and to ensure its connecting viewers with authoritative information while liming misinformation and removing harmful content.
Image Credit: Alex Castro / The Verge
Key Themes Behind This Trend
- Youtube's Election Content Moderation
- The trend towards increased moderation of online election content creates opportunity for development of AI moderation tools.
- Authenticity in Online Content
- The push towards authoritative information presents opportunity for the development of verification processes for online news sources.
- Impact of Online Misinformation
- The removal of election-disputing videos brings attention to the need for further research on the impact of misinformation on public opinion.
Where This Applies
- Social Media
- Social media companies are presented an opportunity to develop, implement, and improve content moderation procedures to ensure accuracy and protect their audiences.
- Journalism
- Journalism has an opportunity to develop verification processes that ensure the accuracy of information, making them a more trusted resource for news.
- Academia
- Academic research has an opportunity to explore the impact of misinformation and media literacy as it relates to public opinion and decision making.
