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Google Breaking News Youtube

YouTube introduces ‘breaking news’ feed as it muscles in on Twitter’s USP

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By Jessica Goodfellow | Media Reporter

August 20, 2017 | 2 min read

YouTube has introduced a ‘Breaking News’ carousel to its mobile apps and homepage, a move that could indicate parent company Google wants to make it easier for users to source important content on a platform where 300 hours of video are uploaded every minute.

YouTube introduces ‘breaking news’ feed

YouTube introduces ‘breaking news’ feed

The new section looks similar to a recommended channel on the web homepage, and as a scrollable carousel in the mobile app between suggested videos. It was first pointed out by Android Police.

YouTube introduces ‘breaking news’ feed

It’s not yet known whether Google is populating this section algorithmically or whether it will be hiring a team of editors to curate the news.

It is also unclear whether the section only appears during breaking news cycles; so far the section has been populated with reports of Steve Bannon leaving his position at the White House, as well as reports on the Barcelona terror attack.

But the tab appears to be Google’s move to make YouTube browsing more simple, rather than relying on recommended videos. It also indicates that Google is trying to make YouTube more of a real-time news platform, to rival that of Twitter - which pivoted around breaking news last year - and to an extent Facebook, which has introduced a raft of features to help it surface important news faster.

The Drum reached out to Google for comment, who did not respond by time of publication.

Google Breaking News Youtube

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