Government Plans to Force Approved Mainstream Media Into YouTube Feeds
Labour wants to rig your YouTube feed by forcing platforms to push government-approved mainstream media ahead of independent creators.
Ministers want content from so-called “trusted news sources” to be made prominent and easy to discover as part of the fight against “misinformation.”
In its Watch This Space greenpaper, the government preferred outlets include public service broadcasters such as the BBC, ITV, STV, Channel 4, S4C and Channel 5, with national and local newspapers potentially joining the approved group.
All, of course, famously known for never fudging a story or dutifully toeing the government line. Remember when so much of the media’s pandemic questioning amounted to asking why lockdowns were not harder and faster?
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said it was “vital” that people had better access to “trusted and accurate news” amid the battle against mis- and disinformation.
Nandy and her department recently left X, raising fears that the Government is preparing a broader clampdown on Elon Musk’s social-media platform.
The Government says it would prefer broadcasters and technology platforms to reach voluntary agreements. However, its new media consultation explicitly raises the possibility of legislation if those partnerships do not deliver sufficient prominence.
So it’s mandatory.
This will effectively give government-backed mainstream media outlets advantage over independent journalists, commentators and digital creators competing for the same audiences.
YouTube had already warned about the proposal in April, two months before the Green Paper was published.
David Wheeldon, YouTube Europe’s senior public-policy director, said prominence rules under discussion in Britain could force the platform to prioritise “government-picked channels” over independent creators.
“These rules could force YouTube to give special treatment to a small group of organisations hand-picked by a government,” he said.
“By forcing these channels to the front of the line, everyone else gets pushed back, regardless of what viewers actually want to see.”
YouTube reportedly sent the following warning to UK creators about the Government’s proposed media rules that the proposed “prominence regime” could require platforms to prioritise broadcasters such as the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 in “user interfaces and recommendation feeds,” potentially “pushing your content out of sight.”
U.S Free speech lawyer Preston Byrne, who is fighting the UK governments’ efforts to clamp down on free speech on 4Chan, said on X: “The UK wants to force American platforms to silence American voices to favor its own state broadcaster.”
Anglofuturist said on X: “Oops sorry, looks like you tried to watch some independent content. Did you mean to watch the latest episode of Romesh and Rob instead? Or maybe the newest season of Gogglebox? Why would you want to watch anything else?”
StockedUp Mag says there is no such thing as “misinformation,” just lies and truths, but watch those who push the term like hawks.