YouTube says it will require creators to label some AI content
YouTube is the latest platform to introduce rules around AI labeling as more deceptive AI content has been introduced online.
YouTube announced it will now require users to indicate whether the videos they upload depict altered or synthetic media, including artificial intelligence-generated content. For videos related to “sensitive topics” like “health, news, elections, or finance,” YouTube said it will put a label on the video itself.
On Monday, the platform explained it will ask users uploading new videos to answer "Yes" or "No" to whether or not their videos contain altered content. Specifically, the platform will ask if any of the following describes their content: "Makes a real person appear to say or do something they didn't say or do," "Alters footage of a real event or place," or "Generates a realistic-looking scene that didn't actually occur." When a user answers "Yes," YouTube will put a label in the video description that says "Altered or synthetic content."
YouTube's announcement said the new feature will be available Monday, but when NBC News tried to upload a new YouTube video following YouTube's announcement, the feature did not yet appear.
The announcement comes as tech companies are scrambling to address the spiraling issue of AI-generated misinformation online.
YouTube, which is owned by Google, already hosts numerous unlabeled videos that are either entirely AI-generated or include AI-generated elements. A January NBC News investigation found hundreds of videos uploaded since 2022 that spread fake news about Black celebrities using AI tools. For example, many of the videos featured AI-generated audio narration, which can be produced far more quickly and cheaper than a human actor reading a script. Other videos used thumbnails that contained AI-edited photos, such as photos of celebrities' faces that were edited to make them look angry or sad.
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