YouTube Adds Fact-Checking Links! Google’s Company Ties Up With Wikipedia & Britannica Encyclopaedia to Verify Controversial Videos
YouTube has decided and added fact-checking links below the videos which are controversial.
Misinformation is quite constant on the internet. When the internet first arrived, it was supposed to revolutionise the way we access information. While at an extent it has succeeded in doing so for the most part, but ironically, the internet has ensured that lies, half-truths and distortions of facts are also reachable in our fingertips. Many come shockingly from the mainstream! Now to put a stop to the spin, YouTube has decided and added fact-checking links below the videos which are controversial. 'The Nun' Video Ad Pulled Down by YouTube Because It Was Too Scary.
To be precise, the Google-owned video sharing service ties and now links sites such as Encyclopaedia Britannica and interestingly Wikipedia to verify the content. According to The Daily Dot, YouTube first started adding these fact-checking links to a small number of videos in July this year. So far, the referral links have appeared on videos about climate change, the Oklahoma City bombing which occurred on April 19, 1995, and the Holocaust. The links detail the event in the history. However, reports claim that the links do not appear to show up on mobile visits to the same YouTube videos.
On the other hand, there are many conspiracy theory videos which are yet to receive this new level of a footnote. YouTube will continue to add new topics as it rolls out its fact-checking efforts. This new feature is being used only in the United States for now. Explaining the pattern, The Daily Dot further noted that the information shows up as small info beneath a video with the debated subject as a headline with a link to the related Wikipedia or Encyclopaedia Britannica entry. It is indeed a great initiative, but until it spreads globally, it’s hard to say if it will put a stop to the rampant disinformation that is out there.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 16, 2018 10:13 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).