YouTube let right-wing figures undermine US poll results before votes were cast: Study

An election misinformation policy rollback by YouTube has allowed right-wing media figures to undermine confidence in the 2024 US poll results even before votes were cast, a study by American media watchdog Media Matters has suggested.

In December 2020, after states certified their election results, YouTube began removing content with false claims that widespread fraud had changed the outcome, but the platform reversed that policy in June 2023 in a decision that was reportedly cheered by right-wing media.

Amid the US poll campaign, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has repeatedly stoked baseless claims about voter fraud while suggesting he could only lose if there was cheating.

Media Matters analysed YouTube content streamed or uploaded between May 1 and August 31 by 30 right-wing channels or channels that hosted notable right-wing figures, and found 286 videos — totaling at least 44 million views and including at least 93 monetised videos — that contained misinformation about the 2020, 2022, and/or 2024 elections. 

“According to our study, former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani was the most prolific election misinformer, accounting for 77 of the 286 videos, and right-wing streamer Benny Johnson had the most videos that we observed with preroll ads,” it said.

Many streamers reportedly asserted that “the only way this election can be won from the left is if it's stolen,” several suggested that “illegal ballots” might be “slipped in” in Pennsylvania, and claimed that Democrats are trying “to rig and steal the election” including with an “illegal alien push”.

“Several right-wing media figures and outlets on YouTube peddled baseless claims that the Democratic Party is actively courting noncitizens and allowing them into the country for the purpose of ensuring a “permanent Democrat majority.” Many of these claims, including that Democrats are “fine with the possibility of voter fraud” or that they “just don't want a fair and free election,” were made during discussions of the SAVE Act, which is Republican-championed legislation aimed at making it illegal for noncitizens to vote, even though noncitizen voting is already illegal and extremely rare.”

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