YouTube policy that banned election fraud lies reversed as 2024 approaches

YouTube has reversed a policy that previously banned false claims about the 2020 election, according to a statement on the site.

The video sharing platform now says that the policy, which was enacted in December 2020, is a violation of constitutionally protected speech.

“Two years, tens of thousands of video removals, and one election cycle later, we recognized it was time to reevaluate the effects of this policy in today's changed landscape,” YouTube said in a statement on its website. The move was first reported by Forbes.

“In the current environment, we find that while removing this content does curb some misinformation, it could also have the unintended effect of curtailing political speech without meaningfully reducing the risk of violence or other real-world harm," the statement continued.

"With that in mind, and with 2024 campaigns well underway, we will stop removing content that advances false claims that widespread fraud, errors, or glitches occurred in the 2020 and other past US Presidential elections."

As Forbes points out, YouTube's policy change comes as social media companies loosen their restrictions on election misinformation.

In the wake of Donald Trump's 2020 loss, the former president and his allies embarked on a messaging campaign that falsely claimed the election was stolen by rigged voting machines and that Joe Biden was illegitimately elected.