The human factor in the fight against disinformation
Posted: Sat Jan 18, 2025 6:26 am
Most of the content consumed on YouTube is entertainment content , such as music videos, pranks, gameplays, etc. And for this type of content, the signals we mention below work perfectly. However, with the growing reach of digital media, many people come to watch news or informational videos. Topics where the quality and veracity of the information take on a lot of importance, and so these signals can be seen as a more subjective factor for their evaluation. “Someone may report that they are very happy with videos that claim the Earth is flat, but that doesn’t mean we want to recommend this type of low-quality content,” explains Google.
In this way, YouTube has been reinforcing its commitment to a more responsible recommendation of these types of informative content. In doing so, it joins the fight of digital platforms against misinformation, a problem that strongly affects the reputation and credibility of social networks.
«We can exercise this control by using classifiers to identify whether a video is “reliable” or “dubious.” These classifications are made by people who evaluate the quality of the information on each channel or video. These evaluators are recruited around the world and receive detailed, publicly available rating guidelines during their training. We also belarus business email database rely on certified experts , such as doctors, when the content is health-related.
To determine the worthiness of content, evaluators answer a few key questions : Does the content deliver on what it promises or achieve its goal? What kind of expertise is needed to achieve the video's goal? What is the reputation of the person speaking in the video and the channel they're on? What is the main topic of the video (e.g. news, sports, history, science, etc.)? Is it primarily satire? These answers and others determine the worthiness of a video. The higher the score, the more the video is promoted among news and information content.
To determine whether content is questionable, evaluators consider, among other factors, whether the content is inaccurate, misleading or deceptive; whether it displays intolerance or insensitivity; whether it is harmful or potentially harmful. The results are combined to obtain a score indicating the likelihood that a video contains harmful or questionable misinformation. Any video classified as questionable is demoted by the recommendation system.
YouTube also clarifies that questionable, offensive or sensationalist content does not generate better results for the platform , compared to what one might commonly think: "when we started to relegate explicit or sensationalist content, we observed that viewing time increased by 0.5% over the course of two and a half months compared to when we did not set any limit."
In this way, YouTube has been reinforcing its commitment to a more responsible recommendation of these types of informative content. In doing so, it joins the fight of digital platforms against misinformation, a problem that strongly affects the reputation and credibility of social networks.
«We can exercise this control by using classifiers to identify whether a video is “reliable” or “dubious.” These classifications are made by people who evaluate the quality of the information on each channel or video. These evaluators are recruited around the world and receive detailed, publicly available rating guidelines during their training. We also belarus business email database rely on certified experts , such as doctors, when the content is health-related.
To determine the worthiness of content, evaluators answer a few key questions : Does the content deliver on what it promises or achieve its goal? What kind of expertise is needed to achieve the video's goal? What is the reputation of the person speaking in the video and the channel they're on? What is the main topic of the video (e.g. news, sports, history, science, etc.)? Is it primarily satire? These answers and others determine the worthiness of a video. The higher the score, the more the video is promoted among news and information content.
To determine whether content is questionable, evaluators consider, among other factors, whether the content is inaccurate, misleading or deceptive; whether it displays intolerance or insensitivity; whether it is harmful or potentially harmful. The results are combined to obtain a score indicating the likelihood that a video contains harmful or questionable misinformation. Any video classified as questionable is demoted by the recommendation system.
YouTube also clarifies that questionable, offensive or sensationalist content does not generate better results for the platform , compared to what one might commonly think: "when we started to relegate explicit or sensationalist content, we observed that viewing time increased by 0.5% over the course of two and a half months compared to when we did not set any limit."