YouTube holds the responsibility to ensure the platform holds liars and extremists accountable.

Hi there -- 

YouTube announced they would no longer remove content denying the validity of the 2020 presidential election, reversing their own election integrity policy.1

Add your name to say to YouTube that this is a dangerous and irresponsible decision. YouTube must remove 2020 election fraud claims to protect our democracy.

Add your name

YouTube initially implemented their policy to remove content spreading election denial in December 2020, following false claims from former President Trump and his allies that voter fraud dominated the last presidential race. These claims were part of his dangerous rhetoric that incited the deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan 6, 2021.

YouTube is failing to live up to their responsibility to hold liars and extremists accountable, and the company can’t even back up the decision with any evidence – they’re refusing to provide any further examples of what factors or instances it considered when weighing its decision.2 As history has demonstrated, the risk of real-word harm from the unchecked spread of disinformation about purported election fraud is enormous, yet YouTube claims that protecting voters from these inaccurate conspiracy theories would mean “curtailing political speech without meaningfully reducing the risk of violence or other real-world harm."3

As a major social media platform owned by Google, YouTube has the resources to do the right thing, but their flat out refusal undermines protections for our democracy in pursuit of profit. Take one minute to sign our petition telling YouTube to remove 2020 election fraud claims.

We can’t continue to put our democracy in jeopardy for the sake of corporate greed. YouTube can and must do better – starting with removing election fraud claims.

In Solidarity,

Nicole Gill
Co-founder and Executive Director
Accountable Tech

1.The Hill: https://thehill.com/policy/technology/4032355-youtube-reverses-policy-will-allow-election-denial/

2. Axios: https://www.axios.com/2023/06/02/us-election-fraud-youtube-policy

3. YouTube Blog: https://blog.youtube/inside-youtube/us-election-misinformation-update-2023/

 

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