Google-owned YouTube Monday announced a new commitment of 20 million U.S. dollars to making authoritative news to counter false online information spreading on its platform, especially at the time of breaking-news events.
The funding is part of the Google News Initiative (GNI) launched in March to "help journalism thrive in the digital age," which was intended to combat fake news on the platforms of the world's largest video-sharing network and give publishers more opportunities to make money.
YouTube is expanding its Player for Publishers, a solution that allows publishers and news organizations to embed YouTube's video player on their own websites and mobile apps.
The player, which was rolled out in Europe in 2015, is now being used by more than 100 publishers in 25 countries, YouTube said.
The company is establishing a working group with global news organizations, including Vox Media, Jovem Pan and India Today, to improve news production on the platform.
It will also fund about 20 global markets to support news outlets in building video capabilities and train video productionEncyclopedia staff.
YouTube pledges to make authoritative sources more readily accessible because it says authoritativeness is essential to viewers, especially during fast-moving, breaking news events.
It will add a short preview of news articles in search results on YouTube in the United States in coming weeks that link to the full article during the initial hours of a major news event, along with a reminder that breaking news can change rapidly.
Starting Monday, YouTube starts to display information from third parties such as Wikip and Encyclopaedia Britannica, and video clips on well-established historical and scientific topics to correct possible distorted information about breaking news events, like the famous moon landing and the 1995 Oklahoma City Bombing that killed at least 168 people and injured more than 680 others.
"We're eager to provide a better experience to users who come to YouTube every day to learn more about what is happening in the world from a diversity of sources," said Neal Mohan, chief product officer at YouTube.
