The lead up to the 2024 U.S. Election
Oct 21, 2024 – [[read-time]] minute read
With early voting underway and mail-in ballots arriving at homes across the country, people are turning to YouTube for news and information about the election. Over the past year, we’ve focused on providing viewers with resources on voter registration, highlighting trustworthy election content, and combating AI-generated election misinformation. Here’s how we plan to continue these efforts.
Helping Americans find the information they need
In the final month of the 2024 election, and on Election Day, we will roll out a number of additional features to connect voters with the information and context they need to stay informed.
Information about voting:
The YouTube homepage will prominently highlight information for viewers on where and how to vote. When searching for “how to vote” or “how to register to vote” viewers may see an information panel that directs them to additional details via Google Search.
Information about candidates:
If a viewer searches for something related to a 2024 federal election candidate, an information panel will appear above the search results that highlights the candidate’s information. This could include their political party, a link to their official channel, and a click-through to Google Search to learn more.
Information about the election results:
After the polls close on Election Day, viewers will see timely context around election results underneath videos and at the top of search results related to the election. This information panel will link to Google’s election results feature, allowing people to follow results for federal elections in real time. There will also be a link to follow the election results in real time on the YouTube homepage, directing you to details on Google Search.
Expanding access to high-quality news & information
Americans turn to YouTube for reliable election news and information. To expand access to that information, we have been working to make major election-related live moments – such as National Conventions and debates – easily accessible to a wide audience on our platform. During debates and National Conventions, viewers were able to easily access live coverage from authoritative news sources and the respective national convention channels. On Election Day, viewers will see a shelf, in both English and Spanish, of live streams from authoritative news channels on the homepage, allowing them to watch election night unfold.
These efforts build upon always-on features that prominently surface information from authoritative sources in search results, on the home page, and on the "Watch Next" panel.
Putting the right protections in place
From removing harmful content to combating misinformation to preventing interference from foreign adversaries, our elections teams are working around the clock to create safeguards ahead of the 2024 election. And as we’ve done in the past, we will temporarily pause ads related to U.S. elections after the last polls close on November 5.
Removing harmful content
Voters need access to diverse perspectives to make informed decisions. YouTube’s Community Guidelines establish guidelines for what’s allowed on the platform, and all channels, regardless of their background, political viewpoint, position or affiliation, must abide by these policies. Our policies apply to all forms of content, including election-related material. Content that misleads voters on how to vote or encourages interference in the democratic process is prohibited on YouTube. We quickly remove content that incites violence, encourages hatred, promotes harmful conspiracy theories, or threatens election workers. At the same time, our systems recommend election news and information from authoritative sources and display information panels at the top of search results and below videos to provide further context.
Creating safeguards around Generative AI
As AI becomes more sophisticated, it may be challenging for viewers to distinguish between real and synthetic content. To combat this, we created safeguards regarding AI-generated content on our platform. We require creators to disclose whether the video they have uploaded contains any altered or synthetic content. We then add a label to the description panel indicating this alteration, providing important context for viewers. For altered or synthetic content about sensitive topics, such as elections, a more prominent label is applied directly to the video player. These labels are applied regardless of the creator, political viewpoints, or language.
However, labeling alone may not be enough to mitigate the risk of harm. Some synthetic media, regardless of labeling, will be removed if it violates our Community Guidelines. These labeling efforts have been in effect for elections worldwide this year; for example, ahead of the European Parliamentary election in June, the altered or synthetic label was displayed more than 40 million times on videos across the EU.
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Limiting interference from foreign adversaries
We continue to work with Google’s Threat Analysis Group (TAG) to combat government-backed attacks. Together, we identify coordinated influence operations on YouTube and terminate their channels and accounts. This includes government-backed hacking designed to interfere with the 2024 election. Through TAG, we also work with other technology companies to share intelligence and best practices, and share threat information with law enforcement.
2024 has been a busy year for elections, and YouTube remains steadfast in our commitment to ensuring that our platform empowers and informs voters while protecting them from harmful misinformation or disinformation campaigns. We continue to invest in the people, policies, and technology needed to handle content moderation at scale, including a global team of over 20,000 content reviewers. Responsibility remains our number one priority, both at election time and all year round. Over the coming months, we’ll continue to build on these efforts and share updates on our progress.