YouTube Stars to Raise Awareness on Fake News

YouTube is reportedly investing $25 million for its efforts against fake news. Part of Alphabet’s $300 million Google News Initiative, the video platform will be using its allotment to support the video efforts of global news organizations, as well as improve the manner in which it delivers news to viewers.

YouTube says that aside from previews and links to news articles in search results, it will also add text from trusted sources such as Wikipedia and Encyclopaedia Britannica on topics surrounded with a lot of misinformation such as the Oklahoma City Bombing.

YouTube stars such as Ingrid Nilsen, Mark Watson, John Green, ASAP Science, Destin Sandlin and Alonzo Lerone will also be tapped to teach teens about fake news. Nilsen, Watson and Green will be working with MediaWise, a group focusing on digital literary skills, to help younger viewers understand current media literacy issues.

Source: CNBC