More than 80 fact-checking organizations around the world have sent an open letter to YouTube’s executives. In it, they call for more effective measures to combat disinformation and offer to cooperate with the video platform.
“Every day we see that YouTube is one of the main actors of online disinformation in the world,” denounce the organizations and NGOs based in forty countries. “We don’t see YouTube putting a lot of effort into pursuing policies that solve the problem.”
The signatories are deeply concerned about the rampant misinformation exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic. For example, there are many conspiracy documentaries to be found, as well as videos promoting fake drugs. The fact-checkers also denounce risks of political destabilization.
Below the radar
The main areas for improvement relate to the transparency of the algorithms, tackling “repeat offenders” and non-English-language videos that too often go under the radar.
The video service itself responds by saying that it has “invested heavily in policies and products to combat the spread of false information”. Important progress has been made, a spokesperson said, but fact-checking is “one piece of a larger puzzle to curb the spread of disinformation”.
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