YouTube has started making moves to curtail the spread of false information by experimenting with a feature that allow viewers to add contextual annotations to videos through a new “community notes” feature.
The Google-owned video giant is piloting the capability with a limited group of “eligible contributors” in the United States. If their explanatory notes are rated as broadly helpful by other viewers, the notes will be displayed as popup boxes beneath relevant YouTube videos.
In a blog post by YouTube, the platform describes the notes as a way to clarify potentially misleading content. For example, contributors could flag when outdated footage is portrayed as current events, identify parody videos, or provide updates on products mentioned.
The crowdsourced annotations echo Twitter’s controversial “Community Notes” – formerly known as Birdwatch – which allows users to add context and fact-checks to tweets, including labeling misinformation.
Like Twitter, YouTube plans to rely on user ratings to surface the most helpful notes. Initially, the platform’s own third-party evaluators will assess note quality before eventually opening ratings to creators.
“If many people who rated notes differently in the past now rate the same note as helpful, our system is more likely to show that note,” YouTube explained.
The video platform says it will use AI to further refine which notes get promoted based on broad viewer consensus across perspectives.
While opening this editorial capability to the public raises misinformation risks, YouTube calls it “part of how we’ll learn.” The company has already implemented COVID-19 vaccine information panels and disclosure rules for AI-generated content.
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For many younger viewers, watching videos is their primary way of consuming information and entertainment online – making contextual corrections increasingly vital as misinformation runs rampant.
However, critics argue that outsourcing fact-checking to unpaid crowds with minimal oversight could open a Pandora’s box of agendas, biases and inaccuracies clouding reality.
As user-generated notes begin appearing below videos, YouTube is bracing for a deluge of complaints over what facts are worth flagging as it walks a tightrope in the misinformation wars.