YouTube is struggling to fulfill its promise to label state-sponsored videos, according to a new investigation
- YouTube is having a hard time fulfilling its promise to label state-sponsored videos, according to a new report from ProPublica.
- YouTube said last year that it would start clearly identifying all videos that were funded by a government agency.
- But ProPublica identified 57 government-funded channels on the platform that were not initially labeled as state-sponsored.
- YouTube subsequently labeled 35 of those channels as state-sponsored after ProPublica identified them, according to the outlet.
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YouTube is reportedly struggling to keep its promise to identify and label videos uploaded by state-sponsored sources.
A recent investigation from ProPublica identified 57 government-funded YouTube channels that the platform had not labeled as such. Once the outlet alerted YouTube to its reporting, 35 of the channels were immediately labeled as state-sponsored.
The channels included Russian-funded news and talk show episodes in which hosts downplayed the extent of Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election. YouTube also reportedly failed until recently to label a US-funded channel that posts Russian-language videos criticizing the Russian government.
The streaming platform first promised to label videos from state-funded media outlets in 2018 amid concerns that governments were using the site to spread misinformation. Similarly, Facebook has promised to label state-funded media pages and ads.
YouTube's struggle to adhere to its own promise to label state-sponsored videos has been well-documented in recent years. ProPublica's story builds on previous reporting by the Committee to Protect Journalists and Reuters, both of which identified dozens of state-backed channels that YouTube failed to label.
A YouTube spokesperson did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment. According to ProPublica, YouTube has touted its ongoing efforts to label videos and said many state-sponsored videos are unlabeled because the channels aren't owned by "news publishers." It's unclear how YouTube defines what it considers a "news publisher."