Misinformation about health is a problem that YouTube has been battling for a while. The corporation has been making every attempt to address a problem that has also gotten the platform into legal difficulty, ranging from conspiracy theories about hay disease and abortion to COVID-19 scams more recently.
One of the solutions was a tagging program that made it easier to recognize movies from accredited medical institutes. According to a post on the YouTube Blog, the company is now expanding the certification scheme to healthcare professionals like doctors and nurses to get their channel certified and recognized as reputable. To yet, this initiative has only provided reliable healthcare information to healthcare organizations, public health departments, educational institutions, and governmental entities.
According to the firm, “doctors, nurses, mental health experts, and healthcare information providers” can now apply to have their channels verified and receive the coveted trust mark as part of the YouTube Health initiative. When viewers enter pertinent health-related terms in YouTube’s search bar, videos from approved channels will show up under a carousel labeled “From health sources.”
Channels that make it through the vetting process will have their videos shown under the health content shelf and display information panels that point users to reliable medical resources. A few weeks ago, YouTube also introduced the Personal Stories feature, which allows users to see videos of other users who have recovered from illnesses in an effort to increase confidence in medical care.
