YouTube expands fact-check feature to videos about mail-in ballots

[September 24, 2020]    (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc's YouTube would start showing text and links from third-party fact-checkers under videos that discuss mail-in ballots, as part of efforts to curb misinformation on the site ahead of the U.S. election in November.

A 3D-printed Youtube logo is seen in front of displayed "Streaming service" words in this illustration taken March 24, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File Photo

An information panel, a feature first launched in Brazil and India last year, will also highlight third-party, fact-checked articles for search queries related to voter registration, YouTube said on Thursday.

U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed without evidence that voting by mail, which is expected to increase dramatically this fall due to the coronavirus outbreak, is susceptible to large-scale fraud.

Voting by mail is not new in the United States, nearly one in four voters cast 2016 presidential ballots that way.

The video service said searches for 2020 presidential or federal congressional candidates will now show a information panel with details about the candidates.

(Reporting by Munsif Vengattil in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)

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