A major advance in the processing of fake news.
The giant Google and its equally giant YouTube video platform toughened their regulations Thursday against ads and content that deny global warming and its causes.
They have taken a more aggressive step than before to tackle this kind of misinformation on social media.
Google, number one in digital advertising, and YouTube are now banning ads and monetization of content that "contradict the well-established scientific consensus around the existence and causes of climate change," says a rule update for them. advertisers.
In addition to banning deceptive or deceptive ads, the platform also prevents climate-skeptic content creators from collecting advertising revenue.
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“Advertisers just don't want their ads to appear alongside this kind of content.
And publishers and creators don't want ads that make these claims on their pages or videos, ”Google explains.
The regulation applies to messages that define climate change as a fabrication or a scam, those that deny that the climate is warming in the long term or that greenhouse gas emissions and human activity contribute to this reality.
No such measure at Facebook
The California group is already restricting ad-backed advertising to certain sensitive topics, such as gun videos or tragic events, but climate change denial has not been one of those restricted content until now.
His neighbor Facebook, which is right behind him in the online advertising market, regularly communicates on his efforts to curb climate misinformation but has no such ban in place on this subject.
The social media giant, which repeats over and over again that it does not want to become an arbiter of the truth, favors the highlighting of indisputable scientific facts via a section devoted to the environment.
"Other social networks must follow in Google's footsteps"
Platforms are regularly accused of favoring content that elicits strong emotional reactions to generate more traffic to convert into advertising revenue. In January 2020, an American NGO, Avaaz, accused YouTube of directing millions of users to videos denying climate change. The platform replied that it was doing its utmost to reduce the number of problematic content, while specifying that it would not censor those who did not violate its rules.
"Google's important decision to demonetize climate disinformation could turn the economics of climate skepticism around," Fadi Quran, a director of Avaaz, responded in a statement.
“Three weeks before the critical Glasgow summit (COP26), misleading content to undermine it is on the rise.
Other social networks must follow in Google's footsteps.
YouTube reached 2 billion monthly viewers this summer worldwide, or 64% of the audience for online videos, according to the firm eMarketer.
