YouTube is banning a wide range of anti-vaccine misinformation, saying it will remove videos that falsely claim vaccines cause diseases or alter people’s genetic makeup, that vaccines are used to track people, or that vaccines “are part of a depopulation agenda.”
“Specifically, content that falsely alleges that approved vaccines are dangerous and cause chronic health effects, claims that vaccines do not reduce transmission or contraction of disease, or contains misinformation on the substances contained in vaccines will be removed,” the Google-owned YouTube said in today’s announcement. “This would include content that falsely says that approved vaccines cause autism, cancer or infertility, or that substances in vaccines can track those who receive them. Our policies not only cover specific routine immunizations like for measles or Hepatitis B, but also apply to general statements about vaccines.”
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was among the first purveyors of anti-vaccine misinformation to have a channel removed from YouTube today.
YouTube’s new guidelines list the following examples of false claims that YouTube will remove:
- Claims that vaccines cause chronic side effects such as:Cancer
- Diabetes
- Other chronic side effects
- Claims that vaccines do not reduce risk of contracting illness
- Claims that vaccines contain substances that are not on the vaccine ingredient list, such as biological matter from fetuses (e.g. fetal tissue, fetal cell lines) or animal byproducts
- Claims that vaccines contain substances or devices meant to track or identify those who’ve received them
- Claims that vaccines alter a person’s genetic makeup
- Claims that the MMR vaccine causes autism
- Claims that vaccines are part of a depopulation agenda
- Claims that the flu vaccine causes chronic side effects such as infertility
- Claims that the HPV vaccine causes chronic side effects such as paralysis