YouTube is set to start taking down false claims that widespread fraud altered the 2020 election outcome — over a month following Election Day.
The company on Wednesday said that because "enough states have certified their election results to determine a president-elect," it will now "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 race. President-elect Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election, but President Trump hasn't conceded and continues to level baseless allegations of widespread voter fraud, which his attorney general has said the Justice Department has found no evidence to support.
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In Wednesday's announcement, YouTube explained it will now be treating the 2020 race as a "historical" election rather than a "current" one and will, for instance, remove videos "claiming that a presidential candidate won the election due to widespread software glitches or counting errors." News coverage or commentary with enough "education, documentary, scientific or artistic context" can stay, however. The policy will start being enforced on Wednesday, and CNN's Brian Fung noted that it "could have a big impact on Trump and right-wing channels."
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