The US Presidential elections are just around the corner, and like every other time, there are chances of a lot of election meddling and political bans to mislead voters or to change their minds. In an effort to curb misinformation around political campaigns and election, YouTube has taken a firm stance and has recently announced that it will pay special attention to the videos containing content related to voting-by-mail. Through its platform, YouTube has announced to provide more authoritative information and curb misinformation and propaganda around the election campaigns as much as possible.
YouTube has already started removing suspicious videos that can encourage election meddling or are responsible for the spread of falsified information around different political parties and their campaigns. This is already a great step because such videos can have a great impact on the psyche of the voters. So, to prevent them from getting swayed, YouTube can do at least this much!
YouTube has explained further that all the videos which contain content related to the mail-in-voting system will have an information panel that will direct the viewers to authoritative sources of information from the Bipartisan Policy Center.
More information panels will be added by YouTube under the videos which appear when the users search for 2020 presidential candidates, or federal Congressional candidates.
YouTube is also creating new information panels which will guide the users about how to vote and how to get registered for the voting-by-mail system. All this information is going to be available in English and Spanish, and it is definitely going to help the voters understand the system better.
Nine states, plus the District of Columbia will be conducting their elections primarily by mail. Voters will have to get registered to automatically receive ballots for voting. The other 36 states will allow any voter to request a ballot to vote-by-mail. However, in Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Texas, voters will need to provide an acceptable reason to opt for the mail-in- voting system.
Not only YouTube, other tech companies like Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, etc. are also taking some big steps to curb misinformation and to encourage voting. Facebook is running a national ad campaign and is directing users towards the Voting Information Centers on both Facebook and Instagram. Twitter is taking steps to encourage the registration of voters, and Snapchat has added some voting resources to encourage voters to turn up to vote.
Read next: YouTube launches a new update in order to stop the spread of fake news
YouTube has already started removing suspicious videos that can encourage election meddling or are responsible for the spread of falsified information around different political parties and their campaigns. This is already a great step because such videos can have a great impact on the psyche of the voters. So, to prevent them from getting swayed, YouTube can do at least this much!
YouTube has explained further that all the videos which contain content related to the mail-in-voting system will have an information panel that will direct the viewers to authoritative sources of information from the Bipartisan Policy Center.
More information panels will be added by YouTube under the videos which appear when the users search for 2020 presidential candidates, or federal Congressional candidates.
YouTube is also creating new information panels which will guide the users about how to vote and how to get registered for the voting-by-mail system. All this information is going to be available in English and Spanish, and it is definitely going to help the voters understand the system better.
Nine states, plus the District of Columbia will be conducting their elections primarily by mail. Voters will have to get registered to automatically receive ballots for voting. The other 36 states will allow any voter to request a ballot to vote-by-mail. However, in Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Texas, voters will need to provide an acceptable reason to opt for the mail-in- voting system.
Not only YouTube, other tech companies like Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, etc. are also taking some big steps to curb misinformation and to encourage voting. Facebook is running a national ad campaign and is directing users towards the Voting Information Centers on both Facebook and Instagram. Twitter is taking steps to encourage the registration of voters, and Snapchat has added some voting resources to encourage voters to turn up to vote.
Read next: YouTube launches a new update in order to stop the spread of fake news
