WHAT IS YOUTUBE DOING?
YouTube has announced that they will begin to remove any misinforming videos surrounding any approved medical vaccinations from their site. Bloomberg reports that the site is forgoing their usual hands-off approach to this topic. The video platform will extend their policies against any form of misinformation conveyed on their site.
A division of Google announced that the ban will include any media claiming that vaccines are dangerous or lead to chronic health outcomes. Over 130,000 videos broke the new rule and were removed from the site. These numbers will rise as the pandemic goes on.
One year ago, YouTube began banning videos that were critical of Covid-19 vaccines. Seeing early on the policy had limitations, YouTube enforced policies after creators found ways around it. Making claims about the vaccines without mentioning Covid-19 directly was one way creators went about it.
We can imagine viewers potentially extrapolating Covid-19. We wanted to make sure that we’re covering the whole gamut.
Mark Halprin on YouTube’s New Policy
DEALING WITH BACKLASH
YouTube faces some of the same political pressures as Facebook and Twitter. The streaming site is being accused of censoring speech. The platform faces scrutiny for what some believe is labeling and inadequately policing vaccine skepticism and falsehoods.
Halprin said, “The company will allow ‘scientific discussion’. Videos about vaccine trials, results and failures.” YouTube will continue to permit personal testimonies. Parents can talk about their child’s experiences receiving the vaccine.
“If videos aggregate these testimonials or make broader claims questioning vaccine efficacy, they will be removed” Halprin said.
IS YOUTUBE RESTRICTING SEARCHES?
Within the conditions of YouTube’s new policy, the platform categorized certain health videos and in some cases, reduced their ability to show up in searches. Reports state that the company will treat certain health videos as “borderline.” This would decrease the appearance in search results.
“It’s only when somebody then generalizes, Halprin continued. ‘It’s not just about my child’. There’s obviously a line there.”
What do you think about YouTube’s new course of action? Let us know in the comments down below!
