With the 2024 European Parliamentary Elections fast approaching (June 6 to 9, 2024), YouTube has outlined its latest measures to counter potential misinformation, and ensure that voters are well-informed as they head to the polls.
And the measures could be a precursor to what we can expect to see for the upcoming U.S. election, with enhanced tools and processes designed to facilitate more accurate information flow.
First off, YouTube’s adding new information panels that will direct users in the EU to Google’s “how to vote” and “how to register to vote” features.
As you can see in the second screenshot above, YouTube will also now direct viewers towards official info on candidates when they conduct a search using their name, while it will also display reminders of where and how to vote in the final weeks of the campaign.
The last image above shows a new election day message that will be displayed to EU users on videos related to the EU elections.
YouTube will also display live results on the main page of the website and app, sourced from official providers.
In terms of moderation, YouTube says that its global team of reviewers has been working for months to get ahead of emerging issues and trends that could impact the EU elections, while it’ll also be applying advanced machine learning techniques to detect potential issues.
YouTube also highlights its new AI disclosure rules, which will help to highlight and deter synthetic content.
In combination, these measures should help to provide more transparency, and keep YouTube users informed in the election period. But bad actors will be trying to influence people, with AI, in particular, expected to see a rise in usage this year.
As such, the EU elections will enable YouTube to test its capacity to combat, which will then enable it to enact more processes ahead of future polls.