YouTube faces complaints of lax approach on overseas election misinformation

After facing heavy criticism for not doing enough to stem misinformation ahead of the US presidential election, YouTube announced last week it would remove videos that alleged fraud had changed the outcome of the contest.

But half a world away in Myanmar, which held a general election just five days after the US vote and faced a tidal wave of online misinformation including unfounded claims of voter fraud, the new rules do not apply.

Social media researchers and civil society groups in Myanmar say the uneven standard is emblematic of YouTube’s comparatively hands-off approach to election misinformation globally at a time when rival Facebook is taking a more aggressive country-by-country measures.