Majority of viewed coronavirus videos on YouTube contain “misleading or false information”, a study suggests. In total, the misleading videos had been viewed over 62 million times. Among the false claims was the idea that pharmaceutical companies already have a coronavirus vaccine but are refusing to sell it. YouTube […]
Majority of viewed coronavirus videos on YouTube contain “misleading or false information”, a study suggests.
In total, the misleading videos had been viewed over 62 million times.
Among the false claims was the idea that pharmaceutical companies already have a coronavirus vaccine but are refusing to sell it.
YouTube said it was committed to reducing the spread of harmful misinformation.
The researchers suggested “good quality, accurate information” had been uploaded to YouTube by government bodies and health experts.
But it said the videos were often difficult to understand and lacked the popular appeal of YouTube stars and vloggers.
Videos from government agencies scored significantly better than other sources, but were less widely viewed.
Of the 19 videos found to include misinformation:
about a third came from entertainment news sources
national news outlets accounted for about a quarter
internet news sources also account for about a quarter
13% had been uploaded by independent video-makers
The report recommends that governments and health authorities should collaborate with entertainment news sources and social media influencers to make appealing, factual content that is more widely viewed.
YouTube said in a statement: “We’re committed to providing timely and helpful information at this critical time, including raising authoritative content, reducing the spread of harmful misinformation and showing information panels, using NHS and World Health Organization (WHO) data, to help combat misinformation.
“We have clear policies that prohibit videos promoting medically unsubstantiated methods to prevent the coronavirus in place of seeking medical treatment, and we quickly remove videos violating these policies when flagged to us. Now any content that disputes the existence or transmission of Covid-19, as described by the WHO and the NHS is in violation of YouTube policies. For borderline content that could misinform users in harmful ways, we reduce recommendations.
