Misinformation has moved from the marginal to the mainstream. No longer contained to the sealed-off worlds of Holocaust deniers or 9-11 truthers, it now stretches into every facet of society, sometimes tearing through communities with blistering speed. Seemingly no topic is immune. All too frequently, we’ve seen misinformation spin up in the midst of breaking news. Following tragic events like violent attacks, theories emerge by the second on everything from a shooter’s identity to motive. In these moments, what happens in the world also happens on YouTube. We reflect the world around us, but know we can also help shape it. And that’s why we’ve made stopping the spread of misinformation one of our deepest commitments.
Speedy removals will always be important but we know they’re not nearly enough. Instead, it’s how we also treat all the content we’re leaving up on YouTube that gives us the best path forward.”
The solution might not be what you’re thinking—that we just need to get better at removing more content, more quickly, from our site. We’ve had that focus since the beginning of YouTube through our Community Guidelines. Today, we remove nearly 10 million videos a quarter, the majority of which don’t even reach 10 views. Speedy removals will always be important but we know they’re not nearly enough. Instead, it’s how we also treat all the content we’re leaving up on YouTube that gives us the best path forward.
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Source: Perspective: Tackling Misinformation on YouTube | YouTube Official Blog