YouTube is strengthening its policies on vaccine videos in an effort to combat misinformation and conspiracy theories, writes CBSNews.com.
The video-sharing platform announced a ban on misinformation about any vaccines approved by the World Health Organization or local health authorities that are currently being administered.
YouTube defines as “misinformation” any content that claims that approved vaccines “cause chronic health effects, claims that vaccines do not reduce the transmission or contraction of diseases, or contains misinformation about substances contained in vaccines.”
That means the Google-owned platform will remove videos that falsely claim that vaccines cause health problems, such as cancer, infertility or autism—a theory that scientists have discredited for decades but which has continued to persist online. As of Wednesday, popular anti-vaccine accounts, including those run by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., were removed from YouTube.
The platform has been campaigning against false claims about COVID-19 and vaccines developed against the virus since late last year. The latest announcement comes as countries around the world work to promote the free provision of COVID-19 vaccines.
"We have consistently seen false claims about coronavirus vaccines spreading into misinformation about vaccines in general, and we are now at a point where it is more important than ever to expand the work we started with COVID-19 to other vaccines.", YouTube said.
Public officials have struggled to counter a steady stream of online misinformation about COVID-19 doses since vaccinations began last year. Meanwhile, YouTube has come under fire for flouting its own policies, mistakenly removing videos that criticize anti-vaccine claims, as investigative reporter Matt Taibbi has documented.
YouTube's new rule will apply to claims about vaccines in general, as well as statements about specific vaccines, such as those given for measles, flu, or COVID-19.