YouTube
launched health labels for videos last year to control the spread of
misinformation regarding health-related topics, and is now introducing them to
more regions. These include three regions in particular: Brazil, India
and Japan.
In addition to this, YouTube plans to add a 'health content
shelf' that would contain reliable information from recognized sources that
people can refer to.
The health-information labels have been designed to prioritize
information from officially recognized sources; those identified by The World
Health Organization and NAM. However, they do not filter the results as finely,
meaning that most users still come across information from other unrecognized
sources.
Nevertheless, adding such labels will have some effect on
the spread of rumours about health-related topics. This is important,
considering how YouTube is a significant source for a variety of information as
a big social media platform, which naturally, also makes it a place of conspiracies
and false information.
YouTube has revealed that it is going to launch the health
labels in more regions in the coming months.
