Reporting on YouTube’s Struggle with Health Information

A lot of people rely on YouTube to make sense of the world.

According to Gallup polling, at least 90% of Americans age 13-49 use the platform. Globally, more than 2.5 billion users are logged into an account at any given time. 

With that kind of reach, even subtle changes to the platform can have real-world consequences. With controversial videos like the conspiratorial “Plandemic” outperforming nearly all official public health messaging, YouTube was under a lot of pressure to adjust what its users saw while accessing information about health. 

The company’s strategy — promote videos from reliable sources, like hospitals and universities — was unusual. Instead of tweaking the system of algorithms that typically recommends and moderates content, YouTube added a new feature, which it called “health content shelves.” This new module on the search results page appeared above most other videos, sort of like a section of ads. 

To make sense of the move for an article in Scientific American, I spoke with the company, several outside researchers, and the National Academy of Medicine, which had collaborated on the effort.

I left with three big takeaways:

• YouTube’s PR operation is formidable and persuasive. 

• The National Academy panel had an incredibly hard job. 

• Unaffiliated social scientists were skeptical that people who didn’t trust institutions would pay attention at all. 

Read the full article in Scientific American: YouTube’s Plan to Showcase Credible Health Information in Flawed, Experts Warn

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