The move is an attempt to curb the dissemination of rumours and hoaxes about the pandemic, YouTube said.
Google-owned video platform YouTube has launched a dedicated coronavirus news shelf on its homepage to keep users informed about the outbreak from authentic sources.
Videos are generated algorithmically with hundreds of different signals being used to help pick videos, according to YouTube. This includes relevancy to coronavirus, how new the videos are, and a viewer’s region.
Google says the news section is already available in 16 countries with plans to roll it out to more countries.
WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook have launched similar pages with information from trusted sources like the World Health Organisation, UNICEF, and the United Nations Development Programme.
Twitter has also expanded its safety rules to remove tweets that could be deemed inaccurate. The social media platform’s safety team said it would ban “content that increases the chance that someone contracts or transmits the virus,” including denial of expert guidance or encouragement of the use of fake or ineffective treatments.
