YouTube 'reckless' to stop policing false claims on election fraud: Biden campaign
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YouTube said it would stop removing content that might have spread false claims related to US presidential elections in 2020 and before.
PHOTO: AFP
WASHINGTON - United States President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign said on Tuesday that a decision by Alphabet’s YouTube to stop policing false claims about fraud in the 2020 race
“YouTube’s reckless and irresponsible decision will invite further democratic decay and potential violence, and we urge them to reconsider this policy,” Biden campaign spokesman Kevin Munoz said.
YouTube said last Friday that the platform would stop removing content that might have spread false claims related to US presidential elections in 2020 and before.
The platform said that while removing the content did curb “some misinformation, it could also have the unintended effect of curtailing political speech”.
Mr Biden’s opponent, former president Donald Trump, has falsely claimed that the election was marred by widespread fraud.
Trump supporters attempted to contest the result in the Jan 6, 2021, storming of the US Capitol
Mr Munoz noted that YouTube’s policy change did “not erase” the fact that Mr Biden fairly won the 2020 presidential election and said that social media companies had played a role in spreading lies in 2020.
Mr Biden, a Democrat, is running for re-election in 2024 seeking his party’s nomination
