YouTube allocates $25m to improve its credentials as an ‘authoritative’ news source

According to a leading publication, in order to fight the menace of fake news, YouTube has allocated $25m to burnish its credentials as an authoritative news source.

Similar actions have been implemented by Facebook, Apple and parent company Google, the idea behind it is to add more weight to ‘authoritative’ news sources over unverified conspiracy-style material on the platform. YouTube strives hard to stop ‘fake news’ content entirely. Other policy shifts include a move to include text articles in people’s feeds during breaking news events until news organisations are able to compile accompanying video.

The platform will also introduce an ‘information panel’ that promotes verified content, including that from local sources, when people view videos. Digital rivals such as Facebook have launched similar fact-checking programs to combat the rise of fake news.