While specific details about the content of the videos removed from February 2021 to January 2022 were not released, the company said these were part of efforts to remove election-related violative content and harmful misinformation.
Janvic Mateo – March 4, 2022
Video sharing platform YouTube has taken down over 400,000 videos uploaded from the Philippines over the past year for violation of its community guidelines.
While specific details about the content of the videos removed from February 2021 to January 2022 were not released, the company said these were part of efforts to remove election-related violative content and harmful misinformation.
Google, which owns the video-sharing platform, said YouTube’s systems were also designed to limit the spread of borderline content and harmful misinformation. It also noted its support to different fact-checking initiatives and media literacy programs in the country ahead of the May national and local elections.
“Fighting misinformation is important to Google and it takes the whole of society working together to address it. We will continue to forge meaningful partnerships with the media and community groups to help people access the right information so they can make an informed vote in the upcoming elections,” said Irene Jay Liu, News Lab lead for Google in Asia and the Pacific.
Information panels
Google also announced the rollout of more features to raise authoritative information about the elections. These include information panels about the candidates and the voting process, which will appear on search results on YouTube.
According to Google, a relevant candidate information panel will show at the top of the search results of YouTube viewers in the Philippines when they search for the names of candidates for president and vice president.
“This panel highlights information on the candidates, such as their political party and what office they’re running for. Information about candidates and parties is sourced from vetted, non-partisan, third-party sources,” the company said.
Meanwhile, the information panel on the voting process will surface on YouTube for all searches pertaining to “how to vote.”
The new information panel on the elections is part of the existing portfolio of features that YouTube recently rolled out in the country, including Top News and Breaking News shelves for fast-moving and breaking news events.
Earlier, the platform also included information panels on funding sources of publishers that receive public or government funding and on well-established topics that can be prone to mis-information, such as martial law in the Philippines.
“Political news and events can be subject to misinformation, so the availability of authoritative information sources is crucial. Over the last few years, we’ve made deep investments to make YouTube a more reliable source for news, while also maintaining the openness of the platform,” said Emily Moxley, YouTube’s vice president for product management.
“Our work is ongoing and we are committed to making YouTube a vibrant and safe community for a healthy political discourse as well as help protect the integrity of elections,” she added.
Source: https://www.onenews.ph/articles/over-400-000-erring-youtube-videos-from-phl-taken-down