YouTube is launching a suite of informative products ahead of the U.S. election, including links to official information about how to vote, highlights from authoritative news sources, added transparency on candidate accounts, AI tags, and more.

First, YouTube will add new how-to-vote reminders to the YouTube home page as well as those in searches pertaining to the election. The company is also launching supplemental information panels in searches related to candidates.

"If a user searches for something related to a 2024 federal election candidate, an information panel will appear atop the search results identifying the candidate's info. This may include their political party, a link to their official channel and a click-through to Google Search to learn more."
That will help assure users can clear up the information presented, while adding even more insight to each candidate within the stream.

YouTube will also include vote count data post-close of the vote on Election Day with links to Google's election results feature that will track data from the polls in real time.

YouTube will also spotlight content from "authoritative news channels" during key election events; there will also be a dedicated "shelf," in both English and Spanish, of live streams from authoritative news channels front-and-center on the homepage on election day.

The other key measure of election integrity highlighted by YouTube is its AI tags about content where synthetic media has been detected, and in addition, it also removes AI content if that violates its Community Guidelines.
These labeling efforts have been in place for elections around the world this year; ahead of the European Parliamentary election in June, for example, more than 40 million instances of the changed or artificial label appeared on videos across the EU.\"
YouTube is also working with Google's Threat Analysis Group (TAG) to combat misinformation campaigns on the service and prevents foreign interference in the election.

It includes government-sponsored hacking aimed at the 2024 election. We also, by way of TAG, work together with other tech firms to exchange intelligence and best practices and to share information regarding common threats with law enforcement agencies.

It's now 14 days before the U.S. election, and given the divisive campaign that has characterized this election thus far, this looks likely to be another combative and possibly contentious election period. And so these measures will be even more important as YouTube takes the lead and further informs viewers.