It seems that YouTube is following in the footsteps of X (formerly known as Twitter)’s Community Notes by introducing a new feature called Notes.
This experimental feature will allow viewers to contribute notes that add context and information under videos. According to what YouTube told TechCrunch, Notes can be used to clarify “when a song is meant to be a parody, or letting viewers know when older footage is being portrayed as a current event.”
The pilot will start in the US in English on mobile devices, and a limited number of users will get to test out the feature in the next weeks and months. The only requirement is an active YouTube channel that is in good standing.
YouTube will use third-party evaluators to rate the helpfulness and accuracy of Notes under a video to train the system, and then viewers will be able to vote on how helpful they find any approved notes, as well as why. The algorithm will then determine which notes are useful, and those notes will be more to be displayed under a video.
Of course, YouTube acknowledges that mistakes will likely happen during this test phase, saying, “notes that aren’t a great match for a video or that incorrect information may be included in a note.” It will use community feedback to improve the quality of Notes during this period. This will also determine whether the feature is rolled out officially.
Better late than never is still late
There are two major reasons why YouTube is rolling out such an ambitious feature now, and both involve unprecedented events.
The first is the meteoric rise of AI use and subsequent abuse, which is already being used to spread misinformation and will undoubtedly worsen as the technology progresses. The second is the upcoming 2024 US presidential election, which is naturally subject to misinformation campaigns like in the 2016 and 2020 elections.
Despite – or because it’s a feature that’s clearly pilfered from X – the fact that introducing Notes now is a ‘better late than never’ situation, this tool should have been incorporated into YouTube long ago. Even without the advent of AI, factually incorrect and outright malicious videos have always plagued the platform, and having something like Notes would have done wonders to deter it.
But now that it’s here hopefully, its success will mean an official rollout of the feature soon and a true deterrent against the spread of misinformation on one of the biggest online social media platforms.
