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YouTube to remove videos that claim presidential election was rigged

For example, YouTube said it will remove videos claiming that president-elect Joe Biden won the election due to widespread software glitches or counting errors.

WASHINGTON — More than a month after the U.S. presidential election, YouTube has announced it will crack down on videos with misinformation about election results. 

YouTube said Wednesday it will now remove videos that falsely claim widespread fraud or that errors changed the outcome of the election.

For example, YouTube said it will take down videos claiming that president-elect Joe Biden won the election due to widespread software glitches or counting errors.

The company said that since September it has removed more than 8,000 channels and thousands of "harmful and misleading elections-related videos" for violating the existing policies.  

YouTube noted it is making this decision now because Tuesday was the safe harbor deadline and enough states have certified election results to determine Biden as the president-elect. 

Wednesday's announcement only covers new videos and not content that has been uploaded in the weeks since Biden won the election. 

The move could impact One America News Network, which has become one of President Donald Trump's preferred news outlets and has often amplified the president's unsubstantiated claims that he actually won the election. 

RELATED: Reports: YouTube suspends One America News after video of fake COVID-19 cure

"We understand the need for intense scrutiny on our elections-related work," YouTube said in an announcement on its blog. "Our teams work hard to ensure we are striking a balance between allowing for a broad range of political speech and making sure our platform isn't abused to incite real-world harm or broadly spread harmful misinformation." 

RELATED: Biden win strengthened as safe harbor provision kicks in Tuesday

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