YOUTUBE is experimenting with a new feature called “Notes” that will allow viewers to add notes and context under videos, revealed the company recently.

Its said in a statement that Notes will look and function similarly to X’s (formerly Twitter) Community Notes.

“For example, this could include notes that clarify when a song is meant to be a parody, point out when a new version of a product being reviewed is available or let viewers know when older footage is mistakenly portrayed as a current event.”

The timing of the feature being experimented on coincides with the lead up to the major US elections, that will take place later this year. As allegations and proof of media information was daunting during the 2020 elections, it is expected to be much worse this year due to the rapid advances and deployment of generative AI.

The Google-owned company may be moving towards combating misinformation by adopting how the feature of X works, which the latter introduced on the platform back in 2021.

YouTube’s pilot phase of Notes will begin on mobile devices in the US and in English. As it will be crowd-sourced, the company said they are expecting mistakes and based on feedback by viewers, participants and creators, Notes will be gradually improved upon.

“To start, a limited number of eligible contributors will be invited via email or Creator Studio notification to write notes so we can test the feature and improve our systems before we consider expanding.”

The company also pointed out that an eligibility criteria includes having a YouTube channel in good standing with the Community Guidelines of the platform.