Misinformation at public forums vexes local boards, big tech

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Public forums before local school boards and city councils are the latest source of misinformation about COVID-19.

Videos of people criticizing masks or vaccines as ineffective have been seen by millions of people, and are creating new challenges for local governments and tech companies looking to weigh free speech against the harm of misleading medical claims.

YouTube had removed videos of several local government meetings. But it recently reversed its decision, saying it will create exceptions to its misinformation policy for local government videos.

YouTube may still remove content that uses remarks from public forums in an attempt to mislead.