In order to curb the spread of misinformation online, YouTube is testing a new feature where it will occasionally play 15-second “media literacy” ads before videos. The move will help “prompt critical thinking.”
The 15-second short videos, which are only being tested for select US users will be played in place of an advertisement. The video will offer tips on how to know what information to trust online. Notably, the promo video will be skippable like many YouTube ads, as per a 9to5Google report.
YouTube also updated its support page listing many of the various experiments the platform is currently trying, adding details about a new “media literacy” experiment.
“We’re experimenting with ways to prompt critical thinking when consuming information online. This small experiment will feature media literacy tips in the form of 15 second skippable ads that will show up before a video,” according to YouTube’s support page.
For now, YouTube’s media literacy ads will only be shown ahead of “a random sample” of videos and Google has specifically stated that these ads appearing before a particular video is “not a judgment” of the channel or the video itself, the report said.
Depending on how the early experiment goes, YouTube will consider the possibility of expanding the program further, it added.
