YouTube is testing a new tool that allows users to add contextual notes to videos uploaded to the platform.
In a blog post, YouTube explains that this feature, Notes, allows users to add information that clarifies the contents of a video.
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Examples might include cases where someone is using older footage to present something as a current event, if a video is actually a parody, or if a product being referenced has already been updated.
Notes will appear on a video “if they are generally found to be helpful,” as YouTube says. In the image below, the Note will appear in a small pop-up box below the video’s views and upload date. Viewers of a video with a Note will be asked whether they found it helpful, somewhat helpful, or not helpful, and asked to explain why.
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“A bridging-based algorithm helps identify notes that are useful to a broad audience,” YouTube explains in its blog post. “If multiple users who have previously rated notes differently now rate the same Note as helpful, our system is more likely to show that Note below a video. These systems will continue to improve as more Notes are written and rated across a wide range of topics.”
YouTube Notes is very similar to X/Twitter's Community Notes feature, where users take on the role of external contributors to verify the accuracy of posts. Like X/Twitter, YouTube says the pilot is limited to a select few "eligible contributors" who will be invited via email or Creator Studio notification to try out the feature.
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This is part of a growing list of YouTube products designed to provide additional context for uploaded videos. Other products include adding information about COVID-19 vaccines to information boards and new rules requiring creators to declare whether their video was created using artificial intelligence.
See also: YouTube tightens policy on gun videos
The YouTube Notes pilot is only available in English to select YouTube users located in the United States.
Source: ign
