Bulletins

YouTube is now banning even more antivax content

Google's video site is taking down accounts linked to prominent anti-vaccine advocates like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and claims that common vaccines are dangerous, according to the Washington Post.

​A health care worker is vaccinated against COVID-19
COVID vaccine mandates are expanding.
Photo: Scott Heins/Getty Images

YouTube will now ban videos that claim a variety of vaccines are ineffective or dangerous and will take down channels linked to anti-vaccine activists including Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., the Washington Post reported Wednesday.

Google's video site has already taken similar moves with regard to COVID vaccines amid loud skepticism about the shots, which research shows are a safe and effective public health tool against a deadly pandemic.

YouTube will now take action on misinformation about immunizations for an array of other illnesses such as measles and chickenpox and do more to tackle broader hesitance about the jabs, according to the report. Concerns about vaccines and resistance to their use has spread on social media in particular, contributing to outbreaks of diseases that were nearly eradicated.

The site will allow some claims through, such as personal anecdotes and discussions of research and historical failures, but will be removing assertions "that vaccines cause autism, cancer, infertility or contain microchips," the Post reported, quoting YouTube's vice president of global trust and safety.

COVID vaccine misinformation has continued to spread online despite social media firms' bans, even as COVID vaccine mandates also gain steam.

Ben Brody

Ben Brody (@ BenBrodyDC) is a senior reporter at Protocol focusing on how Congress, courts and agencies affect the online world we live in. He formerly covered tech policy and lobbying (including antitrust, Section 230 and privacy) at Bloomberg News, where he previously reported on the influence industry, government ethics and the 2016 presidential election. Before that, Ben covered business news at CNNMoney and AdAge, and all manner of stories in and around New York. He still loves appearing on the New York news radio he grew up with.

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