Videos by a far-right conspiracy group appeared in YouTube searches for some A-list celebrities and at least one company Monday, underscoring that the site's effort to contain misinformation and propaganda on its website is a work in progress, NBC News reported.
The videos, featuring baseless accusations of pedophelia, were among the first to appear in searches for Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg and Mexican cement company Cemex. The videos were created by believers of Qanon, a conspiracy theory that centers on false allegations that Democratic politicians and celebrities are part of a child sex ring.
YouTube didn’t respond to a request for comment but some of the conspiracy video rankings dropped after NBC News reached out on Monday.
Several of the videos have been viewed hundreds of thousands of times on YouTube, which has faced repeated criticism for not doing more to tamp down conspiracy theories and false information on its site.
