Online platform YouTube has changed its policy on combating misinformation. In favor of freedom of expression, videos with dubious content about the 2020 US elections should now remain online.
In December 2020, the online video platform YouTube declared that it would fight false information in connection with the US presidential election at the time. YouTube has now announced a clear departure from the previous guidelines. The video platform will “no longer remove content that makes false claims about widespread fraud, errors or glitches in the 2020 presidential election and other past US elections,” the company said in a blog post on Friday.
“Two years, tens of thousands of videos removed, and an election term later, we realized it was time to re-evaluate the impact of these policies in today’s changing landscape,” YouTube said.
decision in favor of freedom of speech
While removing the content curbs “some misinformation,” it could also have the “unintended effect of restricting political expression.”
The ability to openly discuss political ideas, even if they are controversial or based on unproven assumptions, is “central to a functioning democratic society – especially in the midst of election season,” it said. The updated guideline is therefore effective immediately.
Other rules, however, are apparently intended to remain in place, including the ban on content that could mislead voters or tempt people to disrupt democratic processes.
“Dangerous Decision”
The decision was immediately met with criticism. The independent organization Free Press asked YouTube to withdraw the “dangerous decision” immediately. The online platform is “completely wrong” in its justification in favor of freedom of expression. Rather, hatred and misinformation threatened “our democracy” in an increasingly polarized political landscape.
YouTube was “one of the last major online platforms” with a policy to curb misinformation about the 2020 election, the left-wing organization Media Matters also criticized the move. The company is giving “people like Donald Trump and his agents a free hand to continue to spread lies about the 2020 election without consequences.”
Against the background of the next presidential election in November 2024, the political debates in the USA are becoming increasingly heated. A number of US tech giants have therefore recently been increasingly concerned with the question of how false information can be combated without restricting freedom of expression.