YouTube adopts 'holistic approach', deletes 1 M videos on 'misinformation' about COVID-19

In a major move to combat misinformation, YouTube has taken down over 1 million videos on COVID-19 since February 2021. The removed COVID-related videos were said to spread disinformation like false cures or claims of hoax, said YouTube Chief of Product Neal Mohan. On Wednesday, August 25, Neal released a blog post to announce the "holistic approach" adapted by the Google-owned video platform to curb the spread of "dangerous misinformation."

"Following tragic events like violent attacks, theories emerge by the second on everything from a shooter’s identity to motive. In these moments, what happens in the world also happens on YouTube. We reflect on the world around us, but know we can also help shape it. And that’s why we’ve made stopping the spread of misinformation one of our deepest commitments," Neal wrote on his blog. The company also mentioned that it relies on "expert consensus from health organisations" like US Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) for COVID-related information. Additionally, YouTube has decided to keep information from trusted sources, which will help reduce the spread of videos with harmful misinformation.

YouTube removes around 10 million videos every quarter

Talking about the aggressive approach towards the removal of content from the video platform Neal added, "First, if we only focus on what we remove, we’re missing the massive amount of content that people actually see. Bad content represents only a tiny percentage of the billions of videos on YouTube (about .16-.18% of total views turn out to be content that violates our policies)." The company has decided on strict elimination of videos that "directly lead to egregious real world harm." Specifying the need for safety amidst the raging pandemic the blog post added, "Everyone should be armed with absolutely the best information available to keep themselves and their families safe."

Shedding light on the immediate solution Neal said, "Speedy removals will always be important but we know they’re not nearly enough. Instead, it’s how we also treat all the content we’re leaving up on YouTube that gives us the best path forward." Moreover, the company henceforth would be focused on the "increase the good and decrease the bad" policy, the blog post added. Giving an estimate, YouTube said that the platform removes close to 10 million videos every quarter and that do not even make to 10 views. Lastly, talking about it the revised search results Neal said, "when people now search for news or information, they get results optimized for quality, not for how sensational the content might be."

Meanwhile, YouTube has also taken down "thousands" of videos for violating elections-related policies, with over 77% removed before hitting 100 views just ahead of the 2020 Presidential elections in the US.

Image: @Fusion_medic_animation/SzaboViktor/Unsplash (representative)