YouTube will introduce a new tool to combat online conspiracy theories in the coming weeks, the latest effort from Google’s video site to halt the spread of misinformation.
Videos propagating conspiracy theories about events- such as the 9/11, moon landing, Kennedy assassination – will now be accompanied by text from Wikipedia providing facts that counter the theory, Susan Wojcicki, chief executive officer of YouTube, said on Wednesday.
“Our goal is to start with a list of conspiracies around the internet where there’s a lot of active discussion,” she said at the South by Southwest conference in Austin, Texas, on Wednesday.
YouTube has faced scrutiny for inappropriate and misleading information on the site. A recent video promoting a conspiracy theory about the Parkland, Florida, school shooting was the site’s top trending video for hours before being removed.
