Time and again, India has borne the brunt of disinformation on social media, which is said to widen the fault lines between different social and religious groups and even lead to unrest.
While some social media giants like Facebook have at least a mechanism in place to control the free flow of hate and misinformation, other popular platforms like YouTube still have a long way to go.
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According to some estimates, there is almost 46 million YouTube users in India. This means that every third Indian accesses the platform for entertainment or news content. But the fact that there is no control over the type of information posted on YouTube makes it a lucrative forum for rumor makers who generate income from misleading clickbaits.
Global fact checkers took note of this, and now the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) has written to YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki on the matter. The letter of January 12, 2022 calls on the social media platform to implement guidelines to curb the flow of disinformation, and also suggests appropriate measures.
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Hundreds of sermons against vaccination have been watched on YouTube by millions of users around the world, including India. Many cancer hypocrites for Covid are still flooding the platform. The impact has been severe for governments and health workers fighting the pandemic.
Disinformation about government programs or content targeting certain communities, especially during elections, manages to get a free passage on YouTube. Unsurprisingly, such videos impact many minds, which is detrimental to India’s social security.
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In such a scenario, it is imperative for YouTube to filter the content offered on the platform. Because disinformation is a global threat, as demonstrated by the infamous riots in the Capitol at the beginning of last year.
In the IFCN letter, YouTube was named “one of the most important online disinformation and misinformation channels in the world”. It reads: “What we are not seeing is a great effort by YouTube to implement guidelines that address the problem. On the contrary, YouTube allows its platform to be used as a weapon by unscrupulous actors to manipulate and exploit others and to organize themselves and raise money. “
The letter lists how YouTube has been the go-to place for global conspiracy groups from Europe to Latin America and unfounded allegations of electoral fraud from the US to Taiwan. He also expresses concern about the abundance of hate speech targeting vulnerable groups or trying to whitewash crimes committed by dictators and strong militaries.
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“The examples are too many to list. Many of these videos and channels are still online today, and they have all come under the radar of YouTube guidelines, especially in non-English speaking countries and the global south, ”the letter reads.
The letter expresses its dissatisfaction with YouTube’s approach to disinformation and continues: “Your corporate platform has previously presented discussions about disinformation as a false dichotomy between deleting or not deleting content. In this way, YouTube avoids the possibility of doing what has been proven to work: Our experience as fact checkers along with scientific evidence shows us that uncovering fact-checked information is more effective than deleting content. “
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“And since a large proportion of the views on YouTube come from its own recommendation algorithm, YouTube should also make sure it doesn’t offer disinformation to its users or recommend content from unreliable channels,” it added.
The IFCN proposed a series of measures to YouTube to monitor the spread of fake news on the social media platform. In search of “the commitment to meaningful transparency about disinformation on the platform”, it suggested: “YouTube should support independent research into the origins of the various misinformation campaigns, their reach and impact, as well as the most effective ways to expose false information. It should also publish its full moderation policy on disinformation and misinformation. “
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The letter points to the “wrong priorities” of YouTube: “In addition to removing content for reasons of legal compliance, YouTube should focus on providing context and offering exposures that are clearly overlaid on videos or offered as additional video content . This can only succeed if we enter into a meaningful and structured collaboration, take responsibility and systematically invest in independent fact checks. “
She also called for measures against “repeat offenders who produce content that is constantly flagged as disinformation and misinformation, especially those who monetize this content on and off the platform, in particular by preventing their recommendation algorithms from promoting content from such sources of misinformation”.
The letter urged YouTube to “expand current and future efforts to address disinformation and misinformation in languages other than English and provide country and language-specific data and transcription services that work in any language”.
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The letter has been signed by fact checking organizations from around the world. The India Today Group, which has its own fact-checking department AFWA (Anti Fake News War Room), is also among the signatories.
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