San Francisco, United States.— More than 80 fact-checking organizations have called on YouTube to address what they say is misinformation running rampant on the platform.
In a letter to YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki published Wednesday, the groups said the Google-owned video platform is “one of the world’s leading conduits of misinformation and misinformation.”
YouTube’s efforts to address the problem, they said, are proving insufficient.
“What we don’t see is a lot of effort on the part of YouTube to implement policies that address the problem,” the letter says. “Instead, YouTube is allowing its platform to be used as a weapon by unscrupulous actors to manipulate and exploit others, and to organize and raise funds.”
The problem, the groups noted, is particularly widespread in non-English-speaking countries and in the southern hemisphere.
The groups are members of the International Fact-Checking Network and include the Rappler organization in the Philippines; Africa Check; Science Feedback, from France, and dozens of other organizations. They lashed out at YouTube, pointing out that it confines discussions of disinformation to a “false dichotomy” of whether or not to remove content.
Showing verified information is more effective than deleting content, the verifiers wrote.
They proposed that YouTube focus on providing context and clarifications that are “clearly overlaid” on the videos. They also called for the platform to take action against repeat offenders and step up efforts against false information that is in a language other than English.
In a statement, YouTube spokeswoman Elena Hernandez said the company has “invested heavily in policies and products in every country where we operate to connect people with authoritative content, reduce the spread of dubious misinformation, and eliminate videos” that violate the rules.
He noted that fact-checking is “a crucial tool to help people form their own informed decision,” but added that it is “one piece of a much larger puzzle to address the spread of misinformation.”
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