Thu 30 September 2021:
As social media platforms try to combat health misinformation surrounding Covid-19 and other diseases, YouTube stated on Wednesday that it would remove videos and some high-profile users who incorrectly suggest that approved vaccines are dangerous.
In a blog post published on Wednesday, the streaming platform explained that its current community guidelines, which already prohibit the sharing of medical misinformation, have been expanded to include “currently administered” vaccines that have been deemed safe by the World Health Organization and other health officials.
Under its COVID disinformation policy, the site had already blocked content that made false claims about COVID-19 vaccinations. The move broadens the scope of the policy to include a far larger number of vaccines.
“We’ve steadily seen false claims about the coronavirus vaccines spill over into misinformation about vaccines in general, and we’re now at a point where it’s more important than ever to expand the work we started with COVID-19 to other vaccines,” the company said.
A YouTube spokesperson said channels of several “well-known vaccine misinformation spreaders will be terminated,” naming Joseph Mercola and Sherri Tenpenny as well as a Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. affiliated channel.
YouTube has announced that it will no longer allow videos that suggest vaccines are unsafe or ineffective, or that they cause other health problems such as cancer or infertility. The company also mentioned videos that incorrectly characterize the components used in vaccines, as well as claims that vaccines contain properties that may be used to “monitor” persons who receive them.
Since last year, YouTube has banned over 130,000 videos for violating its Covid-19 vaccination policies.
The business notified German media on Tuesday that it has blocked Russian state broadcaster RT’s German-language channels for breaking its Covid disinformation policy.
Before shutting down the two channels, YouTube stated it had issued a warning to RT, but the decision has prompted a threat from Moscow to ban the video site.
It isn’t the only social media giant dealing with the spread of Covid-19 conspiracy theories and medical disinformation in general.
This month, Facebook bolstered its efforts to combat extremist and conspiratorial groups, beginning with the shutdown of a German network spreading Covid misinformation.
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