The spread of misinformation and fake news has gripped the world in a tight clutch. Social media has significantly contributed to this as it empowers everyone to say whatever they want. Video streaming giant YouTube is similar to social media platforms in some ways, as it also allows anyone and everyone to upload content if they wish to do so. YouTube might remove the content later if it gets flagged but at least for some time that content would be available for the world to watch. Anyone can say anything in a video, even if it's fake information, and post it for the world to watch.
Going forward, things might not be the same though. According to reports, YouTube is testing a new feature, akin to X's community notes, which would allow users to provide information under a misleading or confusing piece of content by giving additional context.
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YouTube New Feature
YouTube reportedly is sending invitations to some users for a pilot program of this feature. The users who find a video 'confusing' or 'inaccurate' can submit a note to clarify the video. Once a note is submitted, other users who are a part of this program will be able to review it and then as a group they would decide if the note will be shown on the video or not. If the group approves the note then it will appear underneath the video and it might also include timestamps that were found to be troublesome in the video.
Google announced this feature back in June for a 'limited number of eligible contributors' but now it seems like the tech giant is rolling it out to some more users.
YouTube's Take On The New Feature
According to a report by 9to5Google, YouTube in a mail has explained how it works and said, "When you find a video that might be confusing or inaccurate, you can submit a note clarifying it. Your contributions will be reviewed by others with a wide range of views to ensure their quality and helpfulness before being added to the information panel below the video."
The streaming giant said that a note is only published if it is rated as 'helpful' by a 'wide range of people'. It added, "Our systems consider rating history and identify notes where raters who’ve historically had different perspectives on notes now agree. If people who have rated notes differently in the past now agree that a note is helpful, then our system is more likely to publish the note."
YouTube in a support page reportedly said that for users in the program, an “Add note” button will appear under videos where they can write and submit a note. If the note gets published then the name of the person/channel who submitted it will be left out for anonymity and safety purposes.
It stated that this feature works only for mobile devices right now.