YouTube testing with 'media literacy tips' as ads before videos

YouTube is testing a new experiment where it will occasionally play 15-second "media literacy" ads before videos to "prompt critical thinking".

The video streaming platform will play a short 15-second video offering useful tips on how to know what information to trust online, in place of an advertisement. Like many YouTube ads, this promo will be skippable, reports 9To5Google.

YouTube has updated their support page listing many of the various experiments the video provider is currently trying, adding details about a new "media literacy" experiment.

"We're experimenting with ways to prompt critical thinking when consuming information online. This small experiment will feature media literacy tips in the form of 15 second skippable ads that will show up before a video," according to YouTube's support page.

The experiment is currently limited to select US users.

For now, YouTube's media literacy ads will only be shown ahead of "a random sample" of videos and Google has specifically stated that these ads appearing before a particular video is "not a judgment" of the channel or the video itself, the report said.

Depending on how the early experiment goes, YouTube will consider the possibility of expanding the program further, it added.