YouTube- giant Video sharing platform has decided to remove all the content that includes anti-vaccine information from its platform.
Videos that include misconceptions about approved vaccines such as vaccine is dangerous, causes cancer, autism or infertility will be taken down.
The company said it will allow videos about vaccine policies, trials, historical vaccines success or failure discussions. It will also allow personal testimonials relevant to vaccines.
’’ So long as the video doesn’t violate other community guidelines, or the channel doesn’t show a pattern of promoting vaccine hesitancy.’’
What is the policy of the Platform regarding misinformation?
YouTube has a clear policy regarding misinformation that harms others. It includes termination of accounts from the platform specifically anti-vaccine influencers.
Previously, YouTube faced criticism from experts for doing less to encounter false health information on their platform.
According to BBC, President Joe Biden said that social media platforms are largely responsible for changing people’s opinions about vaccines.
Also, appealed to the platforms to handle the situation and do not allow content that includes misinformation.
YouTube Spoke person confirmed, besides crackdown, YouTube focuses on removing pages associated with high-profile misinformation.
Under the new policy, it will block videos about vaccines, like the MMR vaccine, that protect against measles, mumps, and rubella.
The company said, ‘’ 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.’’
YouTube has removed more than 130,000 videos since last year in violation of its Covid-19 vaccine policies.
According to sources, the platform told German media that it had blocked the German language Channels of Russia’s state broadcaster RT for not following the guidelines.
The channel involved in violation of Covid-19 policies and spreading misinformation.
Though, YouTube had issued a warning to RT before shutting down the Channels but provoked a threat from Moscow to block the Video site.
Last year in February, Facebook introduced a similar ban. The platform targeted content that made false claims about vaccines causing autism, and other diseases. However, the company has faced trouble in enforcing it.
Similarly, in March, Twitter decided to remove users that spread misinformation about Covid-19 vaccines.
The videos shared on these platforms greatly influence the behavior of the people.
The health experts believe these actions would help in creating a positive impact on the Vaccination.
