Community-driven context for YouTube videos with timestamp precision.
SecondView is a browser extension that lets viewers add context, perspective, and critical analysis directly to specific moments in YouTube videos. Instead of issuing top-down fact checks, SecondView empowers the community to contribute insights, encouraging media literacy and thoughtful discussion exactly where it matters most.
Add context to specific moments in videos, not just entire videos. Notes appear at the end of the claim, this is done because a claim must be fully articulated, contextualized, and presented before it can be accurately, fairly, and comprehensively verified. Allowing a claim to "make its case" enables an assessment of its specific context which is essential for evaluating accuracy giving content a fair chance before providing perspective.
Notes are evaluated across four dimensions:
- Evidence: Credible, appropriate sources
- Explanation: Clear reasoning and logic
- Coverage: Addresses the full claim with nuance
- Tone & Quality: Objective, constructive communication
A note with great sources but poor explanation scores lower than one that balances all dimensions. This prevents gaming the system and rewards thoughtful contributions.
- No email required
- Pseudonymous usernames
- Anonymous viewing by default
- After voting, see:
- Vote breakdown by dimension
- Accuracy score and confidence level
- Community consensus (Active/Pending status)
- Your contribution to the evaluation
community consensus details are hidden until a vote on a note is made, this ensures that the final result reflects the authentic will of the voters rather than a manufactured trend.
- Navigate, rate, and submit notes without touching your mouse. Accessibility-first design.
- Soft deletes (data preserved for academic use)
- Comprehensive metadata tracking
- Designed for misinformation research and analysis
See our Guide.md for more detailed guide
For Viewers:
- Watch YouTube: Install SecondView extension
- See context: Notes appear at relevant timestamps
- Evaluate quality: Rate notes on evidence, explanation, coverage, and tone
- Make informed decisions: Use community context to think critically
For Contributors:
- Create profile: Generate pseudonymous identity (no email needed)
- Add notes: Flag claims with timestamps, categories, and sources
- Build reputation: Quality contributions increase your influence
- Track impact: See how the community evaluates your work
Notes are categorized to help viewers understand the type of context being provided:
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Manipulated Content: Real video or audio that has been edited or distorted to change its meaning selective cuts, deepfakes, voice cloning, or misleading thumbnails.
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Fabricated Content: Entirely invented content staged events presented as real, fake interviews, or synthetic footage created to deceive.
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Imposter Content: Content impersonating legitimate sources fake news channels, unauthorized use of established media branding, or deepfakes of real people.
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Temporal Misrepresentation: Old footage or past events deliberately presented as current, or clips from different time periods combined to mislead.
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False Connections: Unrelated footage, images, or audio used to illustrate claims they have no actual connection to.
- Misleading Content: Opinions, speculation, or unverified claims framed as established facts common in commentary, reaction, and podcast-style content.
- False Context: Accurate footage or audio paired with false surrounding information real clips with wrong narration, or correct events described inaccurately.
- Missing Context: Technically accurate content that omits relevant information, creating a false impression through incompleteness rather than falsehood.
- Outdated Information: Content that was accurate when published but has since been contradicted, updated, or clarified by new evidence or events.
- Error: Honest mistakes by otherwise credible creators factual errors, incorrect statistics, or misidentified footage without apparent deceptive intent.
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Propaganda: Content systematically designed to influence beliefs or political attitudes through biased framing, selective information, or emotional manipulation.
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Undisclosed Sponsorship: Paid promotions or product placements presented as genuine reviews or editorial opinions without proper disclosure to viewers.
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Unsubstantiated Advice: Medical, legal, financial, or safety advice given without credentials or evidence particularly common in health, wellness, and finance content.
- Satire or Parody: Humorous or satirical content that could be mistaken for genuine reporting sketch comedy, satirical news, or parody accounts without clear disclaimers.
Why such detailed ratings?
Scrutiny applies at every layer: Content is examined. Notes are examined. Reviewers are examined.
Quality fact checking requires thoughtful evaluation. While rating notes takes more effort than a simple up-vote, this friction ensures notes are assessed on merit not popularity and prevents coordinated manipulation
When Notes Are Helpful:
- Reliable Sources: High-quality, credible references
- Well Documented: Claims backed by evidence
- Contextually Relevant: Directly addresses the claim
- Clear Explanation: Easy to understand reasoning
- Neutral Tone: Objective, professional language
- Current Information: Up-to-date sources and facts
- Comprehensive Coverage: Addresses the full claim
- Actionable/Helpful: Provides useful information
When Notes Fall Short:
- Unreliable Sources: Poor quality or biased references
- Unsupported Claims: No evidence provided
- Off Topic: Doesn't match flagged content
- Confusing/Unclear: Hard to follow or vague
- Biased Language: Inflammatory or one-sided
- Outdated Information: Superseded or old data
- Incomplete/Shallow: Doesn't fully address the issue
- Spam/Unhelpful: Low effort or irrelevant
- User reputation refinement
- Note details
- Note editing
- Note delete
- Firefox support
- Cross-video claim linking (track misinfo propagation)
- Channel credibility scores (pattern detection)
- Multi-platform expansion (TikTok, Twitter/X)
- Research API for academics
- Advanced analytics dashboard
- Mobile app
Inspired by Twitter's Community Notes, built with the belief that informed communities can self-moderate effectively when given the right tools.
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