One of the most fundamental problems of the social media and internet age is disinformation. A lot of erroneous or wrong information can easily spread on the Internet. There may also be many malicious people or organizations that can use this situation for their own benefit.
Aiming to protect its users in this regard, YouTube will publish awareness videos similar to public service ads. The basis of the decision lies in a study conducted at Cambridge University. According to the research, knowing the disinformation techniques eliminates the effects of fake news.
The videos will be broadcast in three countries in the first phase
The first countries to apply the decision taken by YouTube will be Slovakia, Czech Republic and Poland. The reason for choosing these countries is to fight fake news and disinformation about Ukrainian immigrants. “The research that proves that social media can play an effective role in preventing the spread of misinformation is exciting,” Google said on the subject.
According to the study, people are not affected by fake news when they learn about the production and dissemination process of such content before being exposed to disinformation. That’s why Google attaches great importance to new informational videos.
In the study carried out jointly with Google, which also owns YouTube, 5.4 million people watched educational videos. Afterwards, a survey was conducted with 22 thousand of the participants. In the statements made by the researchers, he stated that people who watch the videos “immediately detect disinformation techniques, can easily distinguish between reliable and unreliable information sources, and make a more accurate decision about whether to share the information.” The results of the research will be published in the journal Science Advances.
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