Major tech companies pledged Thursday to take new steps to combat online extremism by removing more violent content and promoting media literacy among young users as part of a White House summit combating hate-fueled violence.
Platforms like Alphabet’s YouTube and Meta Platforms’ Facebook have come under fire for years by critics who say the companies have allowed hate speech, lies and violent rhetoric to flourish on their services.
US President Joe Biden on Thursday called on Americans to combat racism and extremism during a White House summit that brought together experts and survivors and included bipartisan local leaders.
YouTube said it would expand its policies on violent extremism to remove content that glorifies violent acts, even if the creators of the videos are not connected to a terrorist organization.
The video streaming site already prohibits violent incitement but, in some cases, has not applied existing policies to videos promoting militia groups involved with the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol.
A report by the Tech Transparency Project in May found 435 pro-militia videos on YouTube, including 85 posted since the Jan. 6 attack. Some videos gave training advice, like how to carry out guerilla-style ambushes.
YouTube spokesman Jack Malon declined to say whether the service would change its approach to that content under the new policy but said the update enables it to go further with enforcement than it had previously.
YouTube also said it would launch a media literacy campaign to teach younger users how to spot the manipulation tactics used to spread misinformation.
