With over 2 billion monthly active users, YouTube is a social media behemoth and a key player in the contemporary information ecosystem. And in the age of star influencers, social broadcasting, and search-engine optimized content, as we contend in this essay, this can leave institutional experts trailing behind. Indeed, while YouTube has arguably democratized knowledge production and skills sharing by providing any Internet user with a platform to share ideas 1 by virtue of its incentive structure and participatory affordances ( Burgess & Green, 2009), it has also subordinated credible expertise to a logic of likability. Just 2 weeks prior, YouTube had already said it would tighten its grip around channels spreading misinformation after a live-stream interview of renowned British conspiracy theorist David Icke-in which he falsely linked the spread of the coronavirus to 5G technology-gained substantial traction online ( Kelion, 2020).īehind these events lies a deep tension between the societal need for authoritative medical information and the socio-technical mediation that enables multiple, competing voices to lay claim to such authority on a platform like YouTube a tension exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic. That day, Wojcicki announced the company would alter its content moderation policies to surface more “authoritative information” while removing videos that contain “medically unsubstantiated claims” ( Humbrecht, 2020). “I never thought we’d have so many videos of hand-washing,” YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki candidly remarked in an interview for CNN on 19 April. Following an investigation into the sources and types of video content average users were likely to see when searching for information about the coronavirus on the site, we suggest that through its incentive structure and participatory affordances, YouTube may have subordinated expertise to a logic of likability-leaving institutional experts trailing behind. Behind these events, however, lies a tension between the need for authoritative medical information and the socio-technical mediation that enables multiple, competing voices to lay claim to such authority on YouTube a tension exacerbated by the current pandemic. Forgot your password? Click here to sign-in and subscribe via a link sent to your email.Since the coronavirus outbreak, YouTube has altered its content moderation policies to surface more “authoritative information” while removing videos that contain “medically unsubstantiated claims.” This was made urgent by incidents like a live-stream interview of renowned British conspiracy theorist David Icke-in which he falsely linked the spread of the coronavirus to 5G technology-that gained substantial traction online. Please ensure your password has at least 8 characters, an uppercase and a lowercase letter, and a number or symbol.

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