YouTube on Wednesday banned new videos with bogus claims of election fraud, saying enough states have certified Joe Biden as the next US president to make it official.
Critics have long called for the Google-owned video sharing platform to stop hosting videos spreading misinformation aimed at undermining the results of the election.
A “safe harbor deadline” for the election passed on Tuesday, with enough states certifying election results to make former vice president Biden the winner.
“Given that, we will start removing any piece of content uploaded today (or anytime after) that misleads people by alleging that widespread fraud or errors changed the outcome of the 2020 US presidential election,” YouTube said in a blog post.
The move is in keeping with YouTube practice during previous US elections, according to the widely used video-sharing platform.
Videos removed will include those with claims of software glitches or counting errors affecting the outcome of the vote.
“As always, news coverage and commentary on these issues can remain on our site if there’s sufficient education, documentary, scientific or artistic context,” YouTube said.
Only a small portion of YouTube viewing has been election-related content, with the bulk of that generated by authoritative news sources, according to the Google-owned platform.
The US Supreme Court dealt the latest blow Tuesday to Donald Trump’s effort to overturn his election loss when it denied his allies’ attempt to block the certification of votes in key state Pennsylvania.
The nation’s highest court, which includes three Trump-appointed justices out of nine, did not explain its decision, and none of the members expressed dissent.
More than a month since the November 3 election, Trump still refuses to concede to Democrat Biden — who has a seven million-vote lead — and continues to make baseless claims of fraud.
