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YouTube said Monday that it’s testing a feature for users to add additional context to videos through notes that could point out mistakes, address misunderstandings of parodies, or point out the availability of better-suited products.
The pilot program will initially roll out for mobile users in English in the U.S., with a limited number of users in good standing eligible to write notes. As part of the pilot program, third-party evaluators will rate the notes to train YouTube’s systems, with more users being able to give feedback as the program expands. The aim is for notes to appear publicly under YouTube videos if they are considered “broadly helpful” across perspectives as determined with the help of an algorithm.
“If many people who have rated notes differently in the past now rate the same note as helpful, then our system is more likely to show that note under a video,” YouTube explained in its announcement. “These systems will continuously improve as more notes are written and rated across a broad range of topics.”
YouTube already offers information panels on some videos offering additional background information from third-parties to counter misinformation or to indicate when a publisher is a state-funded outlet.
Monday’s announcement from YouTube echoes the crowdsourced “community notes” feature that is now widely rolled out on X (formerly Twitter) after first being introduced in 2021 as “Birdwatch.”