YouTube Bans False Coronavirus-Related Content

YouTube has announced a ban on any coronavirus-related content that negates the World Health Organization (WHO) advice.

The online video sharing platform says it will pull off anything it deems “medically unsubstantiated”.

Chief executive Susan Wojcicki said the media giant wanted to stamp out “misinformation on the platform”.

YouTube had previously banned contents falsely linking COVID-19 to 5G networks.

Wojcicki made this known on Wednesday during her first interview since the global coronavirus lockdown began.

She said, “So people saying, ‘Take vitamin C, take turmeric, we’ll cure you,’ those are the examples of things that would be a violation of our policy.

“Anything that would go against World Health Organization recommendations would be a violation of our policy.”

Mrs. Wojcicki added YouTube had seen a 75% increase in demand for news from “authoritative” sources.

Last week, Facebook announced users who had read, watched, or shared false COVID-19 information would receive a pop-up alert urging them to visit the WHO’s website.

Facebook-owned Whatsapp also stopped users forwarding messages already shared more than four times by the wider community to more than one chat at a time.

British politician Oliver Dowden praised the response from social media and technology companies in banning misinformation about coronavirus.

He said, “I pay tribute to the work they have done” but he implored them to take down inaccurate information faster during “out of hours” periods such as evenings and weekends.