Video streaming platform YouTube said on Wednesday that it had taken down over one million videos containing COVID-19 misinformation.
It said this in a blog post noting that it relied on “expert consensus from health organizations” to verify information on COVID-19 shared on its platform.
Explaining its move, the Google-owned platform said that it had embarked on this action since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and that these videos passed “dangerous coronavirus misinformation”.
Speaking on the subject, YouTube’s Chief Product Officer, Neal Mohan, said, “Our policies center on the removal of any videos that can directly lead to egregious real world harm.
“Since February of 2020, we’ve removed over one million videos related to dangerous coronavirus information, like false cures or claims of a hoax,” he said.
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“In the midst of a global pandemic, everyone should be armed with absolutely the best information available to keep themselves and their families safe.”
Mohan disclosed that YouTube took down almost 10 million videos every quarter and that they aren’t “nearly enough”.
He said, “Speedy removals will always be important but we know they’re not nearly enough… The most important thing we can do is increase the good and decrease the bad.
“When people now search for news or information, they get results optimized for quality, not for how sensational the content might be.”
