Google-owned YouTube has decided to ban all that it considers "harmful" anti-vaccine content, as determined by so-called "health authorities."
YouTube updated its "medical misinformation policies" on Wednesday to include "harmful vaccine content." According to YouTube, harmless vaccines are those "that are approved and confirmed to be safe and effective by local health authorities and the WHO."
"Working closely with health authorities, we looked to balance our commitment to an open platform with the need to remove egregious harmful content," the announcement 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."
Many anti-vaccine YouTube channels have been taken down, according to the Washington Post, including those by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Joseph Mercola.
Kennedy, a lawyer and son of Senator Robert F. Kennedy, as well as Mercola, a prominent alternative medicine entrepreneur, have said that they aren't against vaccines but are concerned that accurate information about the risks of vaccinations is censored.
Content that "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 vaccine," is considered "false" on YouTube, according to its 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," it went on. "Our policies not only cover specific routine immunizations like for measles or Hepatitis B, but also apply to general statements about vaccines."
Information about "vaccine policies, new vaccine trials, and the history of vaccine success and failure," are still allowed on the platform, notes the announcement.
Furthermore, testimonies of individuals will be allowed, provided that other Community Guidelines are not violated, namely, "a pattern of advocacy of vaccine hesitancy."
YouTube insisted in its announcement that "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 the policies and products that bring high quality information to our viewers and the entire YouTube community."
It is interesting to note that when searching Google for reports on YouTube's latest announcement, all that comes up are articles that disparage said anti-vaxxers. However, when the same key words are typed in another browser, such as Tor, reports from independent news sources like American Military News appear on the front page.
This past April, Chelsea Green published Dr. Mercola's newest book, "The Truth About COVID-19: Exposing the Great Reset, Lockdowns, Vaccine Passports, and the New Normal."
The book's foreword was reportedly written by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., another ardent opponent of experimental shots.
In Mercola's book, he claims COVID-19 was designed as a bioweapon and intentionally left on the loose, as well as the fact that the vaccine is more deadly than the virus.
While some Chelsea Green fans and authors protested the publication of Mercola's book, Margo Baldwin, Chelsea Green's president and publisher, defended their decision and affirmed Mercola's claims.
"Our public responsibility is to the truth, as far as we can determine it," Baldwin said. "Creating a climate of fear and misinformation is what mainstream media seems to excel at, not independent publishers like Chelsea Green."
