YouTube Bans New Videos Claiming US Election Fraud Following Criticism

YouTube has been hammered with criticism for continuing to host videos spreading misinformation aimed at undermining the results of the election.

Advertisement
By Agence France-Presse | Updated: 10 December 2020 10:13 IST
Highlights
  • Google and Facebook temporarily stopped election-related advertisements
  • The move is in keeping with YouTube practice during previous US election
  • Trump still refuses to concede to Democrat Biden

Videos removed will include those with claims of software glitches affecting the outcome of the vote

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.

Meanwhile, YouTube parent Google said it will lift a moratorium on election-related advertising on Thursday given the outcome in the US has been decided.

Google, as well as Facebook, temporarily stopped taking election-related advertisements to prevent being used to spread misinformation or confusion among US voters.

Advertisement

“To protect users, we regularly pause ads for a discrete period over unpredictable, 'sensitive' events when ads can be used to exploit the event or amplify misleading information," Google said in reply to an AFP inquiry.

"While we no longer consider this post-election period to be a sensitive event, we will continue to rigorously enforce our ads policies, which strictly prohibit demonstrably false information that could significantly undermine trust in elections or the democratic process."

Google-owned YouTube, however, has been hammered with criticism for continuing to host videos spreading misinformation aimed at undermining the results of the election.

Advertisement

The position changed on Wednesday with a ban being rolled out at the leading video-sharing platform.

A "safe harbour deadline" for the election passed on Tuesday, with enough states certifying election results to make former vice president Biden the winner, the platform said.

Advertisement

"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 YouTube.

Advertisement

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 company.

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.

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.

Facebook did not respond to a query about plans regarding is suspension of post-election political advertisements, which remained in effect.


Are Micromax In 1b, In Note 1 good enough to take the brand to the top in India?? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.
 

Catch the latest from the Consumer Electronics Show on Gadgets 360, at our CES 2026 hub.

Further reading: YouTube, Google, US Elections 2020
Advertisement

Related Stories

Popular Mobile Brands
  1. Avatar: Fire and Ash OTT Release: When, Where to Watch the Sci-Fi Fantasy
  2. Top Deals on Gaming Laptops During Amazon Great Republic Day Sale
  1. World’s Biggest Alien Search Enters Final Stage With 100 Mystery Signals
  2. NASA Pulls Out Artemis II Rocket to Launch Pad Ahead of Historic Moon Mission
  3. Shambhala OTT Release: When, Where to Watch the Telugu Supernatural Horror Film
  4. AGS 28 OTT Release: Know Where to Watch This Tamil Entertainer Starring Arjun, Abhirami
  5. Avatar: Fire and Ash OTT Release: When, Where to Watch James Cameron’s Epic Sci-Fi Fantasy
  6. OpenAI to Begin Testing Ads in ChatGPT, Says Responses Will Not Be Influenced
  7. Gurram Paapi Reddy OTT Release: When, Where to Watch This Telugu Crime Comedy Thriller
  8. Hypothetical ‘Dark Stars’ Could Rewrite Early Cosmic History, Research Suggests
  9. Honor Magic 8 Pro Air Key Features Confirmed; Company Teases External Lens for Honor Magic 8 RSR Porsche Design
  10. Lava Blaze Duo 3 India Launch Date Announced; Colour Options Teased Ahead of Debut
Gadgets 360 is available in
Download Our Apps
Available in Hindi
© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2026. All rights reserved.