YouTube is adopting a new strategy to counter the spread of conspiracy theories, fake news and other disinformation on its platform.

The Google-owned site is rolling out 'information cues,' which will display text from Wikipedia articles and other websites alongside some videos, in a couple of weeks, said YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki at the South by Southwest Conference in Austin on Tuesday.

Wojcicki said the information cues will only be used on videos that generate 'significant debate' on YouTube, such as the U.S. moon landing or chemtrails.

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YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki announced at SXSW on Tuesday that the firm will be rolling out a new feature that displays 'information cues' alongside popular conspiracy theories

'People can still watch the videos but then they actually have access to additional information, can click off and go and see that,' Wojcicki said.

YouTube has struggled to curb the spread of hoaxes and false news stories on its site, raising the ire of lawmakers and media advocacy groups.

In particular, YouTube's recommendation engine and autocomplete feature have directed users to questionable videos.

Last year, the company adjusted its algorithms to promote what it described as authoritative sources.

Still, YouTube has faced harsh criticism from people who say its algorithms are far from perfect.

YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki (pictured) said the new information cues will only be added to videos generating debate on the site. She reiterated that people can still view the content

After the school shooting in Parkland, Florida last month, YouTube promoted a conspiracy theory video claiming that one of the survivors was a paid actor.

It was the top trending video on the site for at least several hours, before YouTube eventually removed it.

David Hogg, the student who was falsely identified as a crisis actor, told CNN: 'I'm not a crisis actor. I'm someone who had to witness this and live through this and I continue to be having to do that.'

Additionally, popular YouTube channel InfoWars often spread wild conspiracy theories, such as claims that the Sand Hook Elementary School shooting was staged.

Pictured is a sample of the conspiracy theory videos posted about Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg. It's possible that these kinds of videos will now include an 'information cue'

Conspiracy theory videos about Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg claimed that he was a paid crisis actor. One video was at the top of YouTube's trending videos list for several hours

YouTube removed a David Hogg conspiracy theory video from Alex Jones', who runs InfoWars, YouTube channel, and said the video violated its policies against harassment.

Now, a short block of text will appear alongside videos that peddle conspiracy theories, including a link to Wikipedia for additional information.

Wojcicki said the company may consider linking out to other sources of information in the future.

A YouTube spokesperson told Gizmodo that the tool is part of the company's efforts to 'battle misinformation' on the site.

But many critics argue that linking out to Wikipedia is a dubious solution at best.

Users took to Twitter to criticize the move, with one user noting that it was a great way to 'encourage mass defacing of Wikipedia articles at scale.'

Another user said: 'Weren't we told not to use Wikipedia in high school? Now they want to control our minds on YouTube with it.'

Additionally, Wikipedia articles can be easily edited by anyone and, at times, include information that hasn't been verified by third parties.

Pictured is an example of what YouTube's information cues will look like. Here, a conspiracy theory about the U.S. moon landing is directed to a Wikipedia article about the event

WHAT'S THE CONTROVERSY OVER YOUTUBE'S CONTENT? YouTube has been subject to various controversies since its creation in 2005. It has become one of Google's fastest-growing operations in terms of sales by simplifying the process of distributing video online but putting in place few limits on content. However, parents, regulators, advertisers and law enforcement have become increasingly concerned about the open nature of the service. They have contended that Google must do more to banish and restrict access to inappropriate videos, whether it be propaganda from religious extremists and Russia or comedy skits that appear to show children being forcibly drowned. Child exploitation and inappropriate content By the end of last year YouTube said it had removed more than 50 user channels and has stopped running ads on more than 3.5 million videos since June. In March last year, a disturbing Peppa Pig fake, found by journalist Laura June, shows a dentist with a huge syringe pulling out the character's teeth as she screams in distress. Mrs June only realised the violent nature of the video as her three-year-old daughter watched it beside her. Hundreds of these disturbing videos were found on YouTube by BBC Trending back in March. By the end of last year YouTube said it had removed more than 50 user channels and has stopped running ads on more than 3.5 million videos since June. One of the deleted videos was the wildly popular Toy Freaks YouTube channel featuring a single dad and his two daughters All of these videos are easily accessed by children through YouTube's search results or recommended videos. YouTube has been getting more stringent about deleting videos. One example is the wildly popular Toy Freaks YouTube channel featuring a single dad and his two daughters that was deleted last year. Although it's unclear what exact policy the channel violated, the videos showed the girls in unusual situations that often involved gross-out food play and simulated vomiting. The channel invented the 'bad baby' genre, and some videos showed the girls pretending to urinate on each other or fishing pacifiers out of the toilet. Adverts being shown next to inappropriate videos There has been widespread criticism that adverts are being shown on some clips depicting child exploitation. YouTube has now tightened its rules on who qualifies for posting money-making ads. Previously, channels with 10,000 total views qualified for the YouTube Partner Program which allows creators to collect some income from the adverts placed before their videos. But YouTube's parent company Google has announced that from February 20, channels will need 1,000 subscribers and to have racked up 4,000 hours of watch time over the last 12 months regardless of total views, to qualify. This is the biggest change to advertising rules on the site since its inception - and is another attempt to prevent the platform being 'co-opted by bad actors' after persistent complaints from advertisers over the past twelve months. In November last year Lidl, Mars, Adidas, Cadbury maker Mondelez, Diageo and other big companies all pulled advertising from YouTube. An investigation found the video sharing site was showing clips of scantily clad children alongside the ads of major brands. One video of a pre-teenage girl in a nightie drew 6.5 million views. Issues with system for flagging inappropriate videos Another investigation in November found YouTube's system for reporting sexual comments had serious faults. As a result, volunteer moderators have revealed there could be as many as 100,000 predatory accounts leaving inappropriate comments on videos. Users use an online form to report accounts they find inappropriate. Part of this process involves sending links to the specific videos or comments they are referring to. Investigators identified 28 comments that obviously violated YouTube's guidelines. According to the BBC, some include the phone numbers of adults, or requests for videos to satisfy sexual fetishes. The children in the videos appeared to be younger than 13, the minimum age for registering an account on YouTube. Advertisement

The online encyclopedia also denies that it's best used as a news source.

'Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, not a newspaper...as a result, our processes and principles are designed to work well with the usually contemplative process of building an encyclopedia, not sorting out the oft-conflicting and mistaken reporting common during disaster and other breaking news events,' the company's site reads.

Facebook deployed a similar strategy with its fake news problem in 2016.

The social media giant partnered with Snopes, ABC News and Poynter to fact-check, label and bury hoaxes being spread on its site.

However, those organizations have cast doubt on whether the project has done much to stave off the spread of disinformation on the site.