More than a quarter of the most-viewed YouTube videos on COVID-19 contained misleading information, a new study shows.
The study, published in the journal The BMJ, searched YouTube March 21 using keywords "coronavirus" and "COVID-19." Of 150 videos screened, 69 were included, totaling 2.57 million views. Two reviewers coded the source, content and characteristics of the videos included in the study.
Nineteen (27.5 percent) of the videos contained non-factual information, totaling 62 million views.
Government and professional videos contained factual information, but they accounted for only 11 percent of videos and 10 percent of views.
"As the current COVID-19 pandemic worsens, public health agencies must better use YouTube to deliver timely and accurate information and to minimize the spread of misinformation," researchers wrote.