YouTube users shown fake US election results

YouTube removed the videos, saying that they violated the company’s Community Guidelines

(Getty Images)

YouTube has announced that it is removing videos that livestreamed fake election results.

Many of these streams were monetized, meaning the channels were profiting from broadcasting fraudulent results.

Users on Twitter flagged that several channels were showing a predicted election graph as legitimate results of a Joe Biden victory.

The US presidential election results have not yet been announced, and will likely not be announced for some days.

Eight out of the 20 top results when users searched for "LIVE 2020 Presidential Election Results" presented false information.

Four channels broadcasting false results were verified by YouTube. One channel broadcasting fake results had over 1.4 million subscribers.

“After careful review, we are removing livestreams that violate our Community Guidelines. We have established policies prohibiting spam, deceptive practices & scams, and we continue to be vigilant with regards to election-related content in the lead-up and post-election period”, a YouTube press account tweeted.

YouTube’s policies “don’t allow spam, scams, or deceptive practices on YouTube” and that it was “keeping a close eye on content related to the election & will continue to remove content that violates these policies”, an official Team YouTube Twitter account later added. 

These fake results propagated on the platform despite YouTube taking steps to limit misinformation.

The Google-owned video giant began showing information panels below videos about the election on Tuesday.

"Results may not be final," the panel states. "See the latest on Google."

YouTube also said that it would continue to promote “authoritative” news sources, like CNN and Fox News in search results.

Insider noted that music-related channels promoting fake results were ranked higher in YouTube’s algorithm when users searched for "Presidential Election Results" or "Election Results" than outlets such as CBS News or NowThis News.

YouTube is not the only major digital platform fighting misinformation. Facebook and Twitter suspended several large right-wing accounts as voting closed. 

The new accounts rose in popularity quickly, but had been posting information that violated the social media platforms’ policies.

Twitter has also said it would label posts that “undermine faith” in the election, including “unverified information about election rigging, ballot tampering, vote tallying, or certification of election results.”

It has recently had to flag a tweet from president Trump accusing Democrats of “trying to steal the election”.

Facebook and Instagram have also pushed a notification to users telling them that there is not yet final results in the presidential election, after Donald Trump's false claim that he had already won.