YouTube bans all anti-vaccine misinformation.

YouTube said on Wednesday that it was banning the accounts of several prominent
anti-vaccine activists from its platform, including those of Joseph Mercola and
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as part of an effort to remove all content that falsely claims
that approved vaccines are dangerous.

In a blog post, YouTube said it would remove videos claiming that vaccines do not
reduce rates of transmission or contraction of disease, and content that includes
misinformation on the makeup of the vaccines. Claims that approved vaccines
cause autism, cancer or infertility, or that the vaccines contain trackers will also be
removed.

The platform, which is owned by Google, has had a similar ban on misinformation
about the Covid-19 vaccines. But the new policy expands the rules to misleading
claims about long-approved vaccines, such as those against measles and hepatitis
B, as well as to falsehoods about vaccines in general, YouTube said. Personal
testimonies relating to vaccines, content about vaccine policies and new vaccine
trials, and historical videos about vaccine successes or failures will be allowed to
remain on the site.

“Today’s policy update is an important step to address vaccine and health

misinformation on our platform, and we’ll continue to invest across the board” in
policies that bring its users high-quality information, the company said in its
announcement.

In addition to banning Dr. Mercola and Mr. Kennedy, YouTube removed the
accounts of other prominent anti-vaccination activists such as Erin Elizabeth and
Sherri Tenpenny, a company spokeswoman said.

The new policy puts YouTube more in line with Facebook and Twitter. In
February, Facebook said that it would remove posts with erroneous claims about
vaccines, including taking down assertions that vaccines cause autism or that it is
safer for people to contract the coronavirus than to receive vaccinations against it.
But the platform remains a popular destination for people discussing
misinformation, such as the unfounded claim that the pharmaceutical drug
ivermectin is an effective treatment for Covid-19.

In March, Twitter introduced its own policy that explained the penalties for sharing
lies about the virus and vaccines. But the company has a five “strikes” rule before it
permanently bars people for violating its coronavirus misinformation policy.
The accounts of such high-profile anti-vaccination activists like Dr. Mercola and
Mr. Kennedy remain active on Facebook and Twitter — although Instagram, which
is owned by Facebook, has suspended Mr. Kennedy’s account.

Misinformation researchers have for years pointed to the proliferation of anti-

vaccine content on social networks as a factor in vaccine hesitation — including
slowing rates of Covid-19 vaccine adoption in more conservative states. Reporting
has shown that YouTube videos often act as the source of content that subsequently
goes viral on platforms like Facebook and Twitter, sometimes racking up tens of
millions of views.

“One platform’s policies affect enforcement across all the others because of the way
networks work across services,” said Evelyn Douek, a lecturer at Harvard Law
School who focuses on online speech and misinformation. “YouTube is one of the
most highly linked domains on Facebook, for example.”

She added: “It’s not possible to think of these issues platform by platform. That’s
not how anti-vaccination groups think of them. We have to think of the internet
ecosystem as a whole.”

Prominent anti-vaccine activists have long been able to build huge audiences
online, helped along by the algorithmic powers of social networks that prioritize
videos and posts that are particularly successful at capturing people’s attention. A
nonprofit group, Center for Countering Digital Hate, published research this year
showing that a group of 12 people were responsible for sharing 65 percent of all
anti-vaccine messaging on social media, dubbing the group the “Disinformation
Dozen.” In July, the White House cited the research as it criticized tech companies
for allowing misinformation about the coronavirus and vaccines to spread widely,
sparking a tense back-and-forth between the administration and Facebook.

Dr. Mercola, an osteopathic physician, took the top spot in the Disinformation

Dozen. His following on Facebook and Instagram totals more than three million,
while his YouTube account, before it was taken down, had nearly half a million
followers. Dr. Mercola’s Twitter account, which is still live, has over 320,000
followers.

YouTube said that in the past year it had removed over 130,000 videos for violating
its Covid-19 vaccine policies. But this did not include what the video platform
called “borderline videos” that discussed vaccine skepticism on the site. In the past,
the company simply removed such videos from search results and
recommendations, while promoting videos from experts and public health
institutions.
 YouTube said on Wednesday that it was banning the accounts of several prominent anti-
vaccine activists from its platform. The platform, which owned by Google, has had a similar
ban on misinformation about the Covid-19 vaccines. But the new policy expands the rules to
misleading claims about long-approved vaccines. In adding to banning Dr. Mercola and Mr.
Kennedy Jr., YouTube removed the accounts of other prominent anti-vaccination activists.
Now, the policy is more in line with Facebook and Twitter.

Misinformation researchers have for years pointed that the proliferation of anti-vaccine
content on social networks as a factor in vaccine hesitation, and it’s no possible to think of
these issues platform as platform, we need to star thinking the problem as all the internet
ecosystem.

YouTube said that I the past year it had to removed over 130.000 videos for violating its
Covid-19 vaccine polices. But this does not include the videos platform called “borderline
videos”.

 Misleading: (desorientador) leading the wrong way.

 Spokeswoman: (portavoz femenino) female spokeperson.
 Hesitation: (duda) pause.