• by Colin Kirkland , October 19, 2023

As the crisis between Israel and Palestine continues to worsen, social media platforms have been complicit in spreading false accounts and unreliable footage from the front lines.

While apps like X and TikTok come under attack from regulators and watchdogs, YouTube is attempting to provide its users with an engaging and secure experience around breaking news by launching a topic-based news coverage feed and short-form video program for newsrooms.

“The news watch page will pull together content from authoritative sources across video on demand, live streams, podcasts, and Shorts, allowing viewers to deep dive and explore multiple sources and angles,” the company explained in a blog post.

To access the news feed, users will be able to click on any video with a newspaper icon. From there, people should be able to find relevant long-form video, live coverage, and Shorts “to quickly catch up.”

YouTube said that the feature has begun rolling out to mobile users in about 40 countries, with desktop and living room capabilities still to come.

“We believe this updated news experience will help viewers access a range of credible and diverse voices when they want to dive into a news topic,” the company added.

While the feature may help users dig deeper into the emerging stories they care about, it is unclear how YouTube will decide which news sources are “authoritative” and which sources are promoting misinformation. Despite what their approach ends up being, the feature will likely receive criticism from various factions.

In addition to the news feed, YouTube is launching its “Shorts Innovation Program for News,” an initiative meant to strengthen the use of short-form video in news organizations. The company said the company will do so by issuing “financial grants and specialist support.”

“To start, we’re working with over 20 organizations across 10 countries, providing a total of $1.6 million USD,” explained YouTube. “Participants are selected based on having a strong existing long-form video presence on YouTube, but are looking to improve and expand their Shorts news content creation.”

Major news organizations have already embraced YouTube Shorts competitor, TikTok. In July, The New York Times launched a designated Opinion account on TikTok that features several videos per week.

Over the next year, YouTube said its specialists will work with news organizations including Univision in the U.S., AFP in France, and Mediacorp in Singapore on their Shorts content and video production strategies to help develop more “credible, timely, and substantive news” for the platform.