YouTube will stop removing content that falsely claims the 2020 US presidential election was plagued by « fraud, errors or glitches, » the platform said Friday, a decision quickly criticized by anti-misinformation advocates.
YouTube will stop removing content that falsely claims the 2020 US presidential election was plagued by « fraud, errors or glitches, » the platform said Friday, a decision quickly criticized by anti-misinformation advocates.
The announcement by the Google-owned video website is a marked departure from its policy initiated in December 2020, which attempted to curb false claims—most importantly pushed by then-president Donald Trump—that his re-election loss to Joe Biden was due to the vote being « stolen. »
« The ability to openly debate political ideas, even those that are controversial or based on disproven assumptions, is core to a functioning democratic society—especially in the midst of election season, » YouTube said in a blog post.
« We will stop removing content that advances false claims that widespread fraud, errors, or glitches occurred in the 2020 and other past US presidential elections.
