Fact checkers say YouTube lets its platform be ‘weaponized’

More than 80 fact checking organizations are calling on YouTube to address what they say is rampant misinformation on the platform. In a letter to CEO Susan Wojcicki published Wednesday, the groups say the Google-owned video platform is “one of the major conduits of online disinformation and misinformation worldwide.” YouTube’s efforts to address the problem, they say, are proving insufficient. “On the contrary, YouTube is allowing its platform to be weaponized by unscrupulous actors to manipulate and exploit others, and to organize and fundraise themselves.” The problem, these groups said, is especially rampant in non-English speaking countries and the global south. In a statement, YouTube spokesperson Elena Hernandez said the company has “invested heavily in policies and products in all countries we operate to connect people to authoritative content, reduce the spread of borderline misinformation, and remove violative videos.” She called fact checking “a crucial tool to help viewers make their own informed decisions,” but added that it is “one piece of a much larger puzzle to address the spread of misinformation.”