YouTube announced Wednesday it is expanding its policies against misinformation related to the coronavirus and that it would ban misinformation regarding COVID-19 vaccinations.
YouTube said it would ban videos that linked the coronavirus to 5G networks and “medically unsubstantiated” content in April, saying that it would delete content that directly contradicts advice from the World Health Organization, according to the BBC.
The video streaming company said Wednesday that “any content that includes claims about Covid-19 vaccinations that contradict expert consensus from local health authorities or the World Health Organization (WHO) will be removed from YouTube,” according to the Guardian.
“A Covid-19 vaccine may be imminent, therefore we’re ensuring we have the right policies in place to be able to remove misinformation related to a Covid-19 vaccine from the platform,” a spokesperson told the Guardian.
Facebook made a similar announcement Tuesday, saying that it would ban advertisements that discouraged people from getting a vaccine.
In a statement on its website, the tech giant said that the “COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of preventive health behaviors … Today we’re announcing new steps as part of our continued work to help support vaccine efforts.” One of those steps includes “rejecting ads globally that discourage people from getting a vaccine.”
Facebook removed a post from President Trump that compared the coronavirus to the flu on Oct. 6.
The announcement from YouTube followed CEO Susan Wojcicki saying that the company would not ban content that promoted conspiracy theories from QAnon, a right-wing conspiracy group that believes, among other things, a group of powerful politicians is involved in a child sex-trafficking ring and that a deep state exists to thwart Trump.
“It’s not that we’re not looking at it,” Wojcicki said. “I think if you look at QAnon, part of the challenge, part of it is that it’s a grassroots movement, and so you can see just lots and lots of different people who are uploading content that has different QAnon theories.”
The Washington Examiner reached out to YouTube and Google for comment.
