The Story
YouTube’s cracking down on vaccine misinformation.
Tell me more.
Health officials have repeatedly said that vaccines are the world’s best defense against COVID-19. But as the gov's been tirelessly trying to get people inoculated, anti-vaxxers have been making things harder. One study found that more than 25% of Americans are vaccine-hesitant. And that the US is number two on the list of high-income countries that aren’t exactly rushing to get a shot (behind Russia). A big culprit: misinformation.
Yikes.
Whether it’s on platforms like YouTube, Facebook, Signal, Reddit, Medium, TikTok, or Instagram...misinformation spreads like wildfire. The White House has previously blamed both YouTube and Facebook for spreading it. And earlier this year, researchers found that just 12 people were responsible for sharing 65% of all anti-vax info on social media. Fancy algorithms helped them and other anti-vax accounts gain massive followings. And have allowed some to go viral. YouTube had already started banning COVID-19 disinfo videos last year. Now, it’s taking it further.
Go on.
Yesterday, the company said it’s removing all content (videos and accounts) that put out inaccurate info about approved vaccines. Including those that falsely claim shots are dangerous or cause autism, infertility, or cancer. And it’s not just about COVID-19 – it also applies to an array of vaccines (like the flu shot and the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine). But videos about things like vaccine history, policies, and new trials will still be available.
What are people saying?
YouTube says "it's more important than ever" to expand its work to eliminate misinformation. Vaccine advocates, who’d struggled to share “science-based information” because of biased algorithms, were happy to see the company take these steps. And hope other Big Tech companies will follow suit. But at least one critic said this is a form of censorship and that it’s not “beneficial for either democracy or public health.”
theSkimm
Fighting the spread of misinformation has been an uphill battle during the pandemic. And it’s something that officials have been hounding social media platforms to handle. But while the onus falls on platforms to create policies that tackle this problem, it's also up to individuals to educate themselves and find trusted sources for information.
