Hinimok ang YouTube ng mga fact-checking organizations na i-address ang misinformation na mayroon sa kanilang platform

Mahigit 80 fact-checking organizations ang nagsasabi na kailangan gumawa ng “effective action” ang YouTube laban sa online mis- at disinformation na nakalagay sa kanilang platform.

“YouTube is allowing its platform to be weaponized by unscrupulous actors to manipulate and exploit others and to organize and fundraise themselves. Current measures are proving insufficient,” ito’y batay sa isang open letter na naka-address kay Susan Wojcicki, chief executive officer ng online video sharing at social media platform.

Nilagdaan, gumawa ng mga suggestions, roadmap policy at product interventions ang mga fact-checking organization sa kung paano ma-improve ang “information ecosystem” ng YouTube, at sa huli, mabawasan ang dissemination ng misinformation nito.

Noong Agosto 2021, nag-sulat ng isang blog ang chief product officer ng YouTube na si Neal Mohan. Sinasabi niya na ang kumpanya, “ supports an open platform that strikes a sensible balance between freedom of speech and freedom of reach.”

“One person’s misinfo[rmation] is often another person’s deeply held belief, including perspectives that are provocative, potentially offensive, or even in some cases, include information that may not pass a fact checker’s scrutiny,” sabi ni Mohan batay sa ulat ng VERA files.

Dagdag niya rin na, “removals are a blunt instrument, and if used too widely, can send a message that controversial ideas are unacceptable.”

“Not Enough Efforts”

Bagama’t kinikilala ng mga fact-checkers ang efforts ng YouTube sa pag-adress ng problema, binigyan nila ng diin na, “ these are not working nor has YouTube produced any quality data to prove their effectiveness.”

“YouTube is avoiding the possibility of doing what has been proven to work: our experience as fact-checkers together with academic evidence tells us that surfacing fact-checked information is more effective than deleting content,” sabi nila.

Promoting falsehoods

Sa Pilipinas, ang VERA Files, isa sa mga fact-checking organizations, nagfact-checked ng mahigit 30 videos mula sa YouTube noong 2021.

Kabilang dito ang pag-promote ng mga unproven cures laban sa Covid-19, pag-revise ng history noong panahon ng dictatorship ni Marcos, at iba pang falsehoods bago dumating ang 2022 halalan.

Itong similar trend ay na-obserbahan rin ng iba pang fact-checkers sa buong mundo tulad ng Brazil, Taiwan at Germany.

“Given that a large proportion of views on YouTube come from its own recommendation algorithm, YouTube should also make sure it does not actively promote disinformation to its users or recommend content coming from unreliable channels,” sabi nila.

(Nica Rhiana Hanopol, VERA Files)