YouTube Bans Anti-Vaxxers, ‘Misleading’ Vaccine Videos

Social video platform YouTube is on a mission to remove anti-vaxxers from its millions of content creators. YouTube will remove all content with misleading or inaccurate information about all vaccines.

They’re expanding the ban to cover not just COVID-19 vaccines. It will ban content that falsely claims vaccines are dangerous. Similar bans apply to videos that claim inaccurate side effects.

YouTube will also ban videos that wrongly say that vaccines don't work. Finally, any videos listing false ingredients in vaccines will also face bans.

RELATED: DeSantis Rightfully Attacks YouTube For Pandemic Video Removal

Medical Misinformation

In a blog post, YouTube announced changes in its community guidelines. It already placed a ban on sharing medical misinformation. The ban will now extend to cover misinformation over “currently administered” vaccines.

It added that the World Health Organization already certified current vaccines. The organization endorsed these vaccines as safe and effective. 

YouTube already removes content containing false claims about the COVID-19 vaccine. This is already covered under its COVID-19 misinformation policy. However, this new adjustment in policy now covers vaccines apart from COVID-19.  

YouTube To Deny Platform To Anti-vaxxers

“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,”  Google added. Search engine giant Google owns YouTube. It bought the fledgling company in 2006 for $1.65 billion. 

By now the video platform already bans videos that say vaccines are neither safe nor effective. It will also remove any videos that will claim that vaccines can cause complications such as cancer or infertility. Also, Google will specifically target videos that inaccurately list ingredients found in today’s vaccine. It will also remove any videos that allege vaccines contain components that serve to rack individuals who take the shot. 

Exceptions To Creators With Personal Experiences

Despite the severe ban rules, Google will grant certain exceptions to the vaccine misinformation ban, Users who will share content related to their personal experiences with vaccines are okay to post videos.

However, Google will subject these videos to community guidelines. The creator should also avoid encouraging viewers to practice “vaccine hesitancy.”   

As the new rules take effect, YouTube began cleaning up the site by removing famous anti-vaxxers. The company started deleting channels from prominent anti-vaxxers such as Joseph Mercola, Erin Elizabeth, Sherri Tenpenny, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Children's Health Defense organization.

Enforcement WIll Take Time

Even if the new policy already took effect, Youtube clarified that it will take time for employees to remove all suspect videos. It said that given the spread of vaccine information, it will take a while before the company can eradicate the offending videos. 

As a result, many vaccine deniers will likely jump to other video platforms to continue their crusade. Conspiracy theorists have already flocked to new apps and sites such as Rumble.

Right-wing advocates are enjoying the availability plus the anonymity the new apps provide. However, many anti-vaxxer videos and tons of misinformation still quietly reside in YoutTube’s servers all over the globe. 

Watch the NBC News video reporting that YouTube is banning Anti-COVID vaccine videos after misinformation spreads to vaccines in general:

Do you agree with YouTube’s decision to ban anti-vaxxers or videos that feature vaccine misinformation? Do you think the video platform company will stop at that once the pandemic ends?

Tell us what you think. Share your comments in the comments section below.