YouTube now shows government funding information for news videos in India

As media outlets thrive on video-centric platforms, YouTube primes more effective methods to counter fake news. The Google-owned company has now added an update to the Information Panels on its platform that tells viewers if a channel that is owned by a news organisation is funded by the government. It comes as YouTube bolsters its efforts to clamp down on the rampant situation of misinformation in India.

Starting Monday, when you search for a video on YouTube’s ‘Watch’ page, both in English and Hindi, you will see the information panel that claims to check the authenticity of newsy videos, in addition to revealing if the channel publishing the video is “funded in whole or in part” by the government. It will even disclose if the channel is a “public broadcast service”. There will be a link to publisher’s Wikipedia page to “equip users with additional information to help them better understand the sources of news content.”