YouTube Blocks All Vaccine Misinformation
The social media giant also removed high-profile anti-vaccine accounts as part of its new effort.
In a move to crackdown on harmful vaccine content, YouTube on Wednesday announced that it is immediately banning all videos that spread misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines.
Specifically, YouTube is removing content that falsely alleges that approved vaccines are dangerous and cause chronic health effects, that vaccines do not reduce transmission or contraction of disease, and videos that feature misinformation about the substances that are in vaccines.
YouTube noted that the new policy includes content that falsely says that approved vaccines cause autism, cancer, or infertility, or that substances in vaccines can track those who receive them.
“Working closely with health authorities, we looked to balance our commitment to an open platform with the need to remove egregious harmful content,” wrote the YouTube Team on its blog. The company said it had already removed more than 130,000 videos over the past year for violating its established COVID-19 vaccine policies.
A spokesperson for the Google-owned social media platform told CNBC that, as part of this new effort, the company has taken down pages associated with high-profile misinformation spreaders like Joseph Mercola, Erin Elizabeth, Sherri Tenpenny, and the Children’s Health Defense Fund, which is associated with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
William Schaffner, MD, an infectious-disease specialist and a professor of preventive medicine and health policy at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, Tennessee, says that misinformation on YouTube has created barriers to people's acceptance of vaccines.
“If we could get the bad, nonscientific information restricted, I think that will help public health promote vaccination, which of course, will benefit individuals and create safer communities,” says Dr. Schaffner. “The less bad information there is on the internet, the better it is for public health.”
Jennifer Horney, PhD, a professor of epidemiology and a core faculty member with the Disaster Research Center at the University of Delaware in Newark, says that as vaccine mandates arise, accurate information about vaccines is more essential than ever.
“The spread of misinformation about the vaccines and other aspects of the COVID-19 response have become a critical barrier to getting back to normal,” she says. “The Delta surge over the summer in the U.S. has proved without a doubt that the vaccines are safe and effective and prevent hospitalization and death.”
YouTube underscored that it will continue to allow the posting of content about vaccine policies, new vaccine trials, and historical vaccine successes or failures. For example, personal testimonials related to vaccines will be allowed, as long as the video doesn't violate community guidelines and the channel doesn’t show a pattern of promoting vaccine hesitancy.