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YouTube to work with Wikipedia to curb conspiracy theories
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YouTube videos that propagate conspiracy theories will be accompanied by text from Wikipedia providing facts that counter the theory. (Shutterstock/ Grisha Bruev)
Y
ouTube 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, like the moon landing, 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.
Read also: Stimulate your mind through educational YouTube videos
Videos about "widely accepted events" will include "information cues" -- a text box that links to third-party sources including Wikipedia, according to a YouTube spokeswoman. "These features will be rolling out in the coming months," the spokeswoman wrote in an email.
YouTube, part of Alphabet Inc.’s Google, has faced months of 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 a few hours before being removed.
