Washington, United States:
YouTube stated Wednesday it has removed more than one million videos with “dangerous coronavirus misinformation” considering the fact that the get started of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The statement by the Google-owned video platform comes as social media platforms are beneath fire from political leaders for failing to stem the spread of false and damaging misinformation and disinformation about the virus and other subjects.
YouTube stated in a weblog post it relies on “expert consensus from health organizations,” such as the US Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization, but noted that, in some situations, “misinformation is less clear-cut” as new details emerge.
“Our policies center on the removal of any videos that can directly lead to egregious real world harm,” chief item officer Neal Mohan wrote.
“Since February of 2020, we’ve removed over one million videos related to dangerous coronavirus information, like false cures or claims of a hoax,” he stated.
“In the midst of a global pandemic, everyone should be armed with absolutely the best information available to keep themselves and their families safe.”
YouTube stated it was working to accelerate the course of action for removing videos with misinformation although simultaneously delivering these from authoritative sources.
Mohan stated the platform at present removes close to 10 million videos per quarter and that the majority of them have been watched much less than 10 instances.
“Speedy removals will always be important but we know they’re not nearly enough… The most important thing we can do is increase the good and decrease the bad,” he stated.
“When people now search for news or information, they get results optimized for quality, not for how sensational the content might be.”
YouTube also stated it removed “thousands” of videos for violating election misinformation policies considering the fact that the US vote in November, with 3-fourths removed prior to hitting one hundred views.