Since the start of the Coronavirus pandemic, finding credible health information on the internet has become a primary concern. The thing is, you can’t expect to find accurate information on the internet a lot of the time. This issue is only made worse when it comes to health. This is why social media platforms have been combatting this.
YouTube unveils new features to help you find credible health information
Since the get-go, Google and YouTube have been working to slow the spread of inaccurate medical information. Today, in a new blog post, YouTube outlined some new features to help you find trustworthy health information. The first new feature is called the health source information panel. When you open a video on a health-related topic, you’ll see a small blue box under the video. This will tell you if this video is from a credible source. It will reassure you that the information you’re looking at is from a trusted place. If you’re feeling iffy about how the platform defines what’s trustworthy, you’ll see a link in the blue box. It will take you to a page that tells you how the World Health Organization defines a credible source. The last feature is called the health content shelf. This is really straightforward. You’re used to seeing the horizontal-scrolling feed of videos on current events. The health content shelves will show you a scrolling feed of content from credible health news sources. This feature will better highlight trustworthy information on the platform. Right now, YouTube is rolling out these features, but it didn’t give a definite timeframe for when the rollout will be finished. If you don’t see these changes just yet, check to see if your app is fully updated. If it’s updated, then you’ll just need to wait for them to reach you. At the start, these will be available in both English and Hindi.