YouTube to Stop Removing False Claims of Election Fraud

YouTube, owned by Google, has announced that it will no longer remove false claims of widespread election fraud in the 2020 presidential race. The platform said that it made the decision to balance its twin goals of “protecting our community and providing a home for open discussion and debate.” This decision undoes a policy that was implemented in December 2020 after President Joe Biden won the election.

New Rule

The new rule will go into effect on June 2, 2024, ahead of the 2024 midterm races. YouTube wrote in a blog post that “two years, tens of thousands of video removals, and one election cycle later, we recognized it was time to reevaluate the effects of this policy in today’s changed landscape.” The company believes that while removing this content does curb some misinformation, it could also have the unintended effect of curtailing political speech without meaningfully reducing the risk of violence or other real-world harm.

Past Backlash

In the 2020 elections, YouTube faced backlash for its delayed action when it came to labeling and removing videos that showed misinformation or falsely claimed widespread voter fraud. After the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, YouTube said it would begin suspending channels that make false claims about widespread voter fraud. As of March 2023, YouTube had already lifted restrictions placed on former President Donald Trump’s account following the January 6 insurrection.

Policy Remains

Despite this change, YouTube affirmed that there are still aspects of its election misinformation policy that remain in place. This includes highlighting authoritative sources in search and recommendations, and prohibiting posts that aim to mislead voters on where and how to vote.

In evaluating its policy on election misinformation, YouTube found that it needed to balance the importance of protecting its community and allowing for open discussion and debate. While the company recognizes that removing false claims of election fraud does curb some misinformation, it also believes that doing so could have the unintended effect of curtailing political speech without substantially reducing the risk of violence or other harm. As such, YouTube has decided to stop removing false claims of election fraud in the 2020 presidential race.