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

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 US election in November.

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.

US 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. 

Reuters