YouTube says it removed 1m ‘dangerous’ videos on COVID-19

YouTube said on Wednesday that it has removed more than one million videos with “dangerous coronavirus misinformation” since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The statement by the Google-owned video platform comes as social media platforms are under fire from political leaders for failing to stem the spread of false and harmful misinformation and disinformation about the virus and other topics.

YouTube said in a blog post it relies on “expert consensus from health organisations,” including the US Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organisation but noted that, in some cases, “misinformation is less clear-cut” as new facts emerge.

“Our policies center on the removal of any videos that can directly lead to egregious real-world harm,” chief product officer Neal Mohan wrote.

“Since February of 2020, we’ve removed over one million videos related to dangerous coronavirus information, like false cures or claims of a hoax,” he said.

“In the midst of a global pandemic, everyone should be armed with absolutely the best information available to keep themselves and their families safe.”

YouTube said it was working to accelerate the process for removing videos with misinformation while simultaneously delivering those from authoritative sources.

Mohan said the platform currently removes close to 10 million videos per quarter and that the majority of them have been watched less than 10 times.

“Speedy removals will always be important but we know they’re not nearly enough… The most important thing we can do is increase the good and decrease the bad,” he said.

“When people now search for news or information, they get results optimised for quality, not for how sensational the content might be.”

YouTube also said it removed “thousands” of videos for violating election misinformation policies since the US vote in November, with three-fourths removed before hitting 100 views