According to research released on Thursday, Rumble, a video sharing website popular with some conservative and far-right groups, is a haven for election misinformation.
Nearly half of the videos suggested by the site in response to searches for common election-related terms came from untrustworthy sources, according to the analysis from NewsGuard, a firm that monitors online misinformation.
At Rumble’s far bigger rival YouTube, where around 1 in 5 videos came from questionable sources, the percentage was substantially higher. Candidates’ names and politically charged topics like “gun rights,” “voter fraud,” and “abortion” were among the search results.
The results show how, as alternative platforms like Rumble have gained prominence, they have turned into hubs for election-related false information.
The website is well-liked by conservatives and some far-right organisations that criticise the attempts of major platforms like YouTube to moderate material.
Misleading or deceptive claims about voting and elections have proliferated in heading into next week’s elections and have been blamed for increasing distrust and polarization.
Online shows with supporters of the late President Donald Trump, like Steve Bannon, and conspiracy theorists, like Alex Jones, were among the videos that NewsGuard researchers examined in October. Many videos contained debunked claims about the 2020 election, the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U. S. Capitol, the QAnon conspiracy theory, as well as misinformation about voting and the elections.
According to a NewsGuard article, “Rumble routinely pushes videos from dubious sites that traffic in election misinformation.”
To identify which websites were unreliable, the researchers considered a range of aspects, such as the use of misleading headlines or a history of posting inaccurate content.
Rumble did not immediately respond to messages left with him on Wednesday or Thursday.
Rumble’s objective is to “return the internet to its beginnings by making it free and open once again,” according to a statement on the platform’s website.
In September, Rumble claimed to have 78 million active monthly users worldwide, with 63 million of those in the United States and Canada. Numerous well-known conservatives, such Don Bongino and Steve Bannon, who have millions of subscribers to their Rumble videos, host podcasts on the website.
According to Rumble CEO Chris Pavlovski, customers interested in news and politics as well as younger users between the ages of 18 and 24 have contributed to the growth of the Florida-based network.
When researchers performed a search using the term “voting fraud,” Bannon’s programme was one of the top outcomes. Bannon, a steadfast supporter of Trump, was barred from Twitter after urging Dr.
The nation’s top expert on infectious diseases, Anthony Fauci, will be executed by beheading.
Bannon’s comment was symbolic, and he didn’t mean for it to be taken literally, according to a spokeswoman for Bannon who talked to the AP on Thursday.
The combined views of the misinformation-filled films discovered by NewsGuard researchers were close to 9 million.
For not doing enough to combat false information on its platform, YouTube has come under fire.
However, the NewsGuard analysis demonstrates that the platform’s efforts are having an impact. According to researchers, YouTube did not propose any videos in favour of QAnon in addition to proposing less videos that provide false information.
Nevertheless, a report released this fall by New York University faulted Meta, Twitter, TikTok and YouTube for amplifying Trump’s false statements about the 2020 election. According to the survey, there are unclear regulations addressing false information and lax enforcement.
Visit https://apnews.com/hub/misinformation to keep up with the AP’s coverage of false information.
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The far-right-favored video site is a haven for false information.
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