YouTube certifies channels from licensed health professionals that produce health-related content. This means that the information on these channels is reliable and users can trust it. Last year, YouTube introduced a tag that indicated that the information on the channel came from a certified health professional. It also featured videos from these approved channels in a new carousel called “From health sources” that appears above search results.
While these features were initially available to a select few, such as schools, public health departments, hospitals and government agencies, the company is now expanding the program by inviting U.S.-based health creators to apply for this program.
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YouTube requires all creators and health-related institutions to adhere to a set of guidelines when creating videos on the platform. These rules were created with input from trusted sources, including the Council of Medical Specialty Societies, the National Academy of Medicine, and the World Health Organization.
To be eligible for this certification, creators must meet several requirements set by the streaming platform. For example, most of their videos must be about health issues, they must have accumulated at least 2,000 hours of public video watch time in the past 12 months, and they must confirm that they are licensed healthcare professionals, such as doctors, nurses, or mental health counselors.
After reviewing the channel against its guidelines and verifying that applicants have a valid medical license, YouTube will approve the channels. These approved channels will then receive a special label indicating they are a source of a “licensed healthcare professional.”.
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The only downside is that if a content creator posts a video that is not healthcare-related, the channel will still be labeled as such and the video in question may appear in the list of health content.
YouTube aims to provide users with personal health stories from patients or their loved ones in a separate panel whenever users search for sensitive topics like cancer, anxiety, and depression. However, there is always the possibility that a creator's personal story could be mistaken for yet another health resource.
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Additionally, people are concerned that seemingly health-related channels may be spreading false information. Dr. Garth Graham, Global Head of YouTube Health, insists that the organization uses a mix of technology (AI) and human eyes to monitor them against YouTube policies.
The company not only reviews these channels on an annual basis, but also removes them from the program if they don't follow YouTube's rules for health-related content.
Information source: techcrunch.com
