Google-owned YouTube has announced a “long-term vision” for its “medical misinformation” policy, indicating that the platform will censor content it considers to be misinformation related to the prevention, treatment, or denial of “specific health conditions.”
The flurry of investigations and exposés on collusion between the Biden Administration and Big Tech, combined with what some see as the rollback of censorship on X, formerly known as Twitter, has created the sense that online censorship is past its peak.
BRAZIL – 2021/08/23: In this photo illustration the word censored is seen displayed on a smartphone with the logos of social networks Facebook, WhatsApp and YouTube in the background. (Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
At Google, however, it seems that censorship continues to escalate. Even though the pandemic is, for most people, in the rear view mirror, YouTube has just announced another escalation of its coronavirus misinformation policies.
In a blog post written by the company’s head of trust and safety, and global head of public health partnerships, YouTube announced a “long-term vision” for its “medical misinformation” policy — indicating that the new rules are here to stay.
According to the post, YouTube will censor and penalize users for content covered by three categories: prevention, treatment, and denial.
Via YouTube:
Prevention misinformation: We will remove content that contradicts health authority guidance on the prevention and transmission of specific health conditions, and on the safety and efficacy of approved vaccines. For example, this encompasses content that promotes a harmful substance for disease prevention.
Treatment misinformation: We will remove content that contradicts health authority guidance on treatments for specific health conditions, including promoting specific harmful substances or practices. Examples include content that encourages unproven remedies in place of seeking medical attention for specific conditions, like promoting caesium chloride as a treatment for cancer.
Denial misinformation: We will remove content that disputes the existence of specific health conditions. This covers content that denies people have died from COVID-19.
This is the latest sign that YouTube is not backing down from its coronavirus-era censorship policies. As Breitbart News has previously reported, the platform has repeatedly censored Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nephew of President John F. Kennedy, a skeptic of official coronavirus policies and the leading opponent to Joe Biden in the Democrat presidential primary.
Allum Bokhari is the senior technology correspondent at Breitbart News. He is the author of #DELETED: Big Tech’s Battle to Erase the Trump Movement and Steal The Election. Follow him on Twitter @AllumBokhari.