Miraculous solutions against cancer, “truth info” about Covid or even tips to lose weight effectively: YouTube is full of videos of people willing to explain everything about almost all health topics. It remains to be seen if what is said there is true.
At a time when its platform has become a source of information like any other, or unfortunately sometimes also of disinformation, YouTube wants to better verify the content that is sometimes shared with millions of users. Charlatans, specialist doctors, weekenders or popularizers: all profiles are mixed and are free to express themselves on video (in compliance with the codes of use). This October 4, YouTube announces new features to better promote official sources.
hundred partners
Starting this week, French Internet users will benefit from new and more relevant prompts when viewing health-related content. The idea is to know the source of a video and better highlight the content of recognized health actors.
To do this, YouTube joins forces with government or public interest organizations, the Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP), university hospital centers such as the one in Lille, universities or even accredited health organizations ( Psycom Info Mental Health, Vaincre Alzheimer , Medical Research Foundation) to identify reliable sources. In total, a hundred French organizations have been identified and their channels will be promoted when applying for medical conditions.
On the platform, information panels will indicate content from trusted authoritative sources. These same partner videos will also be better highlighted in dedicated sections based on requests made. This could be about information about a type of cancer, as well as about blood sugar, taking care of yourself, taking charge of your heart health, or understanding a rare disease.
“We are excited to launch our health-related features in France to give people access to quality information,” says physician Garth Graham in a blog post published by Google. “We are aware that there is still a lot of work to be done, so our efforts are long-term.”
France joins the list of countries already successfully experimenting with the feature (United States, India, Great Britain, Japan, Brazil, India, Indonesia).
Source: BFM TV
