A global coalition of around 80 fact-checking groups has called out YouTube for being a significant conduit of misinformation.
The fact checkers wrote an open letter to the CEO of YouTube, saying they don't see much effort to implement policies that address the problem.
"On the contrary, YouTube is allowing its platform to be weaponized by unscrupulous actors to manipulate and exploit others, and to organize and fundraise themselves," the letter said. Washington Post's Fact Checker is one of the fact-checking organizations that signed the document.
The groups highlighted in the letter spread misinformation. The group said the movement started in Germany before moving to Spain and Latin America.
Videos interfering with elections in various parts of the world were cited by the fact checkers.
The situation is particularly bad in the Global South, which includes Latin America, Asia, and Africa.
Certain types of misleading or deceptive content with serious risk of egregious harm are not allowed. Content that promotes harmful remedies or treatments is included.
In September of last year, YouTube said it was banning all anti-vaccine content on its platform and would remove videos that characterized well-known approved vaccines as being harmful.
Studies show that showing fact-checked information is more effective than removing content, and that's why the group thinks that instead of deletion, YouTube should work with fact checkers.
The parent company of YouTube did not respond to the request for comment.
According to the company's spokeswoman, YouTube has invested heavily in policies and products in all countries it operates in to connect people to authoritative content, reduce the spread of borderline misinformation, and remove violative videos.
She said fact-checking is a crucial tool to help viewers make their own informed decisions, but it is just one piece of a larger puzzle to address the spread of misinformation.
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