YouTube has announced its decision to expand its health labels on videos as a means of combating the spread of misinformation.
The platform revealed how it would now be venturing out on the mission that would reportedly be spread to three more regions. Similarly, it also spoke about how it plans to highlight links in relatable clips that appear in the search and are specifically related to health concerns.
A number of videos shown from reputable health sources in countries like Japan, Brazil, and India would now also feature ‘accredited hospital’ that would help in providing more assurance while endorsing the content.
Similarly, YouTube revealed how an innovative ‘health content shelf’ would also be included towards the top of the results page that’s located in each region. This will affiliate the content that’s present in these mentioned sources.
These innovative health tools first came into place last year in the US. And that’s when the world witnessed a rise in the pandemic of COVID-19 as more and more concerned users wanted validated information that was authoritative and authentic.
In particular, these tools give great priority to content that has been selectively and officially certified from a number of sources. And that included the World Health Organization as well as NAM.
But at the same time, the results that users witness isn’t limited as much. Therefore, they continue to see health information that is being put forward by different providers, which can add confusion at times.
With the release of YouTube’s official labels and their promoted clips, many will now benefit from a reduction in the spread of unwanted misinformation.
This is being looked upon by critics as an important step and push in the right direction. Especially during the times of a pandemic, this will be greatly beneficial for all those who need easy access, quick, and reliable information.
In the past, YouTube was considered as an ideal rabbit hole due to conspiracy as some of the video recommendations ended up guiding users to a questionable location. Mostly, this was even without users noticing.
While YouTube is yet to reveal how effective these labels were in the US, one thing is for sure. Their decision to expand is certainly suggestive that the platform is seeing fruitful results.
Read next: Starting from this week, YouTube’s users blocking option will have immediate effects
The platform revealed how it would now be venturing out on the mission that would reportedly be spread to three more regions. Similarly, it also spoke about how it plans to highlight links in relatable clips that appear in the search and are specifically related to health concerns.
A number of videos shown from reputable health sources in countries like Japan, Brazil, and India would now also feature ‘accredited hospital’ that would help in providing more assurance while endorsing the content.
Similarly, YouTube revealed how an innovative ‘health content shelf’ would also be included towards the top of the results page that’s located in each region. This will affiliate the content that’s present in these mentioned sources.
These innovative health tools first came into place last year in the US. And that’s when the world witnessed a rise in the pandemic of COVID-19 as more and more concerned users wanted validated information that was authoritative and authentic.
In particular, these tools give great priority to content that has been selectively and officially certified from a number of sources. And that included the World Health Organization as well as NAM.
But at the same time, the results that users witness isn’t limited as much. Therefore, they continue to see health information that is being put forward by different providers, which can add confusion at times.
With the release of YouTube’s official labels and their promoted clips, many will now benefit from a reduction in the spread of unwanted misinformation.
This is being looked upon by critics as an important step and push in the right direction. Especially during the times of a pandemic, this will be greatly beneficial for all those who need easy access, quick, and reliable information.
In the past, YouTube was considered as an ideal rabbit hole due to conspiracy as some of the video recommendations ended up guiding users to a questionable location. Mostly, this was even without users noticing.
While YouTube is yet to reveal how effective these labels were in the US, one thing is for sure. Their decision to expand is certainly suggestive that the platform is seeing fruitful results.
Read next: Starting from this week, YouTube’s users blocking option will have immediate effects
