Congress is urging Google to take long-overdue action to stamp out 'dangerous climate misinformation' on YouTube.
House climate committee Chair Kathy Castor wrote a letter [READ IT HERE] to Sundar Pichai demanding that Google take action against climate change denialist psyops, which YouTube is filled with — along with lots of other weaponized disinformation.
The letter asks that Google respond by February 7.
"YouTube has been driving millions of viewers to climate misinformation videos every day, a shocking revelation that runs contrary to Google's important missions of fighting misinformation and promoting climate action," wrote Kathy Castor, chair of the climate committee.
"Last September, you proudly declared that 'sustainability has become one of Google's core values from our earliest days,' and announced 'the biggest corporate purchase of renewable energy in history.'"
Excerpt from reporting by Jennifer Elias at CNBC:
Google did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The letter comes as YouTube, which is one of Google's largest businesses, faces scrutiny over the spread of hateful content and misinformation on its platform. In recent months, Google has updated policies to try and stem that — especially as the 2020 presidential elections near. The company delayed its reaction to curbing misinformation among political ads following backlash late last year.
Castor noted various media reports and accused the company of incentivizing climate misinformation content while "giving free advertising" to those who promote harmful pollutants. The letter asked the company to stop monetizing videos that promote falsehoods and "take steps to correct the record" for those who've been exposed to climate misinformation.
Read more:
Congress urges Google to act against 'dangerous climate misinformation' on YouTube [cnbc.com, image: shutterstock, file photo, 2019]
