YouTube still recommending eating disorder videos to teens, research finds
The site is continuing to recommend harmful videos despite new rules meant to better protect teenagers in the UK, a study finds.
By BBC News
YouTube is still recommending eating disorder videos to teenagers in the UK, despite new rules introduced to better protect young users, according to a study. The research found that the platform continues to suggest harmful content even after implementing updated safety measures designed to shield teens from dangerous material .
The study highlights that misinformation prevalence in mental health content varies widely, with some platforms showing higher rates of unreliable information than others . While the study notes that professionally created content generally has higher information quality, the persistence of harmful recommendations on YouTube suggests content moderation remains a critical issue .
Mental health organizations and clinicians are urged to create and share accurate, evidence-based content to counter misinformation and protect public mental health . There is a clear need for strengthened content moderation and consistent definitions of mental health misinformation to improve the reliability of online information .