Comelec to coordinate with YouTube for verification of Eleksyon 2022 channels

Commission on Elections (Comelec) spokesperson James Jimenez said on Saturday that the poll body will be teaming up with YouTube to verify candidates' official channels for the 2022 national and local elections.

“We will be working with YouTube to add a verified badge for official candidates that submit their official YouTube channel to Comelec,” Jimenez said in a tweet on Saturday night.

He added that the candidates need not have at least 100,000 subscribers to get the badge from the video-sharing platform.

Jimenez emphasized that having the candidates’ accounts verified would improve accountability, but would not automatically mean that they were telling the truth.

“Know, however, that even verified accounts can–and do–sometimes spread misleading or even false information,” he tweeted.

“Even verified accounts sometimes traffic in fake news. But at least there is accountability for the information a verified account propagates,” he added.

According to the YouTube Help Center, users are eligible to apply for verification, if their channel reaches at least 100,000 subscribers.

However, there are certain instances that YouTube “proactively” verifies channels with fewer than 100,000 subscribers if they are “well-known outside of YouTube.”

YouTube will then review their channel if they are authentic by checking “different factors to help verify [their] identity, such as the age of [their] channel.” The platform may also ask for more information or documentation to verify if the channel represents the real creator, brand, or entity it claims to be.

YouTube will also check if the channel is complete with a channel banner, description, and profile picture. It must also be public, have content, and be active.

On December 1, Google announced its plan to temporarily stop accepting election-related advertisements, noting that this would help prevent online trolls from misleading the public.

The tech giant said it will instead focus on election-related activities that “aim to help people access useful and accurate information via product features and media literacy programs, encourage participation in the voting process, and help protect the integrity of the elections.”

Google also said that it is working with the Comelec on several initiatives, such as the voter registration campaign hosted on Google Cloud. — DVM, GMA News