Tech

YouTube Is Joining The Fight Against Fake News

YouTube announced changes to its platform aimed at fighting fake news.

YouTube Is Joining The Fight Against Fake News
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YouTube is following Facebook's lead in the fight against fake news.

In an announcement Monday, the online video platform said it's making changes to promote "authoritative" news outlets and bring credible sources to the top of users' feeds.

YouTube doesn't specifically list which news outlets it deems authoritative. And as Wired points out, deciding which outlets to trust may pose a challenge.

What YouTube did say is that it will start providing previews of news articles on its site during breaking news events. The platform also says it will start adding a fact-checking feature to videos on certain topics that it says "have often been subject to misinformation," like the moon landing and the Oklahoma City bombing.

And as part of an initiative launched by the platform's parent company, Google, YouTube says it's pledging $25 million to support journalism. The grant will be used to develop new features aimed at supporting news organizations and fund outlets across 20 global markets.