YouTube Promoted Video Fueling Parkland Shooting Conspiracy
- Google video site pulls clip of student with fake title
- Social media still struggles to stop bots, misleading content
Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloombeg
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YouTube was criticized after promoting a video with a title that suggested a teenage survivor of last week’s Florida school shooting was a paid actor, the latest sign of the internet industry’s ongoing struggle to suppress conspiracy theories, fake news and bots.
The video shows David Hogg, a student who has spoken out for gun control after the attack that killed 17 in Parkland, Florida, in a Los Angeles TV news clip from last summer. A description of the video read, "DAVID HOGG THE ACTOR...." Below the video, YouTube’s algorithm suggested viewers watch a clip with similar claims. The first video spent several hours at the top of YouTube’s "Trending" section before being removed on Wednesday.