Reverse for YouTube. The platform announced on Friday, June 2, that it was changing its information dissemination policy related to the 2020 US presidential election in which Joe Biden won ahead of Donald Trump.
“We will stop removing content with unsubstantiated claims of widespread fraud, errors, or problems that occurred during the 2020 presidential election”, the Google platform said on its blog. YouTube had implemented this regulation in December 2020 to combat unsubstantiated claims that the November presidential election was stolen from Donald Trump in favor of Joe Biden.
“The ability to freely discuss political ideas, even those that are controversial or based on false assumptions, is essential for a functioning democratic society, especially in the midst of election season”she added.
This change to the platform’s content moderation policy, which takes effect immediately, comes as tech giants try to find the right formula to fight disinformation without limiting freedom of expression within an increasingly polarized political environment across the states. United.
YouTube “decided to take it easy”
The YouTube ad has drawn the ire of some activist organizations. “In today’s environment, we believe that while removing this type of content helps combat misinformation, it can also have the unintended effect of limiting political discourse without significantly reducing the risk of violence or other harm. in the real world »YouTube continued.
“Content moderation is good for trade and democracy. An end to YouTube’s moderation policy regarding this election is dangerous for all of us.”, reacted Nora Benavidez of the Free Press association. YouTube has “decided to take the easy way out by giving Donald Trump and his supporters carte blanche to lie about the 2020 election without consequence”also criticized Julie Millican, vice president of the NGO Media Matters.
YouTube said its other election misinformation policies, including a ban on content that misleads voters or incites people to interfere with the democratic process, are still in place.
