YouTube launches war on vaccine misinformation

YouTube has stepped up its campaign against Covid-19 misinformation, promising to ban any videos that fuel anti-vaccine conspiracy theories.

The Google-owned streaming platform has updated its policies to reflect a stronger stance on vaccine misinformation. The company specifies that content will not be allowed if it includes harmful misinformation about currently approved vaccines in regards to their safety, efficacy or ingredients. 

The platform has also moved to ban prominent anti-vaccine accounts which have been able to operate to this point. These accounts, such as the Robert F. Kennedy Jr.-backed Children’s Health Defence Fund, have been grouped together by the Center for Countering Digital Hate as the “Disinformation Dozen” – 12 accounts responsible for most vaccine hoaxes on social media.

YouTube will however permit content where people share their personal experiences with vaccinations, though it will remove the content if the uploading channel “demonstrates a pattern of promoting vaccine misinformation.”