Alphabet’s YouTube said Friday that the platform would stop removing content that may have spread false claims related to the 2020 US presidential election and earlier. The new set of updates is part of YouTube’s election misinformation policy that will take effect immediately.

“In the current environment, we found that while removing this content curbs some misinformation, it could also have the unintended effect of restricting political speech,” YouTube said in a blog post. The platform also said that the rest of its policies against hate speech, harassment and incitement to violence would continue to apply to all user content, including elections. The proliferation of misinformation has raised questions about how social media platforms enforce their policies against misleading election content.

Other social media platforms like Meta Platform’s Twitter and Facebook have also seen an increase in election-related misinformation.

In March, YouTube lifted restrictions on former US President Donald Trump’s channel following a suspension of more than two years following the deadly riots on Capitol Hill on January 6, 2021.

“We carefully assess the continued risk of violence in the real world, while balancing the chance that major national candidates will be heard equally by voters in the run-up to an election,” YouTube said in a statement. cheepreferring to movement.

The streaming video platform banned Trump in 2021 for violating its policy of inciting violence after his supporters stormed the US Capitol as Congress began to certify Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential election .

In the same month, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued warrants to eight video streaming and social media companies, including Meta Platforms, Twitter, TikTok, and YouTube, seeking information about how the platforms detect misleading ads.

© Thomson Reuters 2023