(Dmytro “Henry” Aleksandrov, Headline USA) YouTube has started the open season on Big Pharma critics by introducing a new “medical misinformation policy” that will censor any medical- or health-related content that goes against the narrative of the World Health Organization.
YouTube used to have a “COVID-19 Misinformation Policy” webpage that informed people that the platform will censor any content that “poses a serious risk of egregious harm” and spreads “medical misinformation” that contradicts the COVID-19 pandemic propaganda from the WHO or local health authorities [LHA].
Now, the webpage redirects to a “medical misinformation policy” page that expanded the censorship checklist to “specific health conditions and substances” rather than just telling the truth about COVID-19.
The policy could be arbitrarily enforced because it “may not cover” all guidance from the WHO or LHAs related to “specific health conditions and substances,” YouTube said.
The social media platform also published a post on Aug. 15, 2023, in which censors wrote that they want to “make sure there is a robust framework to build upon when the need for new medical misinformation policies arises.”
“We’ll continue to monitor local and global health authority guidance to make sure our policies adapt,” they wrote.
“We want our approach to be clear and transparent, so that content creators understand where the policy lines are, and viewers know they can trust the health information they find on YouTube.”
In addition to that, the platform also asked creators to avoid posting content on the platform that contradicts the guidance from “health authorities” on the prevention or transmission of certain health conditions “or on the safety, efficacy or ingredients of currently approved and administered vaccines.”
The platform also won’t allow content that contradicts the propaganda on treatments, including promoting “specific harmful substances or practices” not approved by authorities or the WHO as safe and effective, and “denies the existence” of certain health conditions.
“YouTube recognizes that WHO’s ‘guidance’ might change. But if it does, it won’t be because of debate on YouTube. YouTube isn’t a social media platform. It’s a propaganda platform,” author Michael Shellenberger wrote on X.
“Imagine if YouTube had been around over the last 200 years. It would have banned criticisms of blood-letting, thalidomide, lobotomies, and sterilizing the mentally ill, all of which were recommended by official health authorities,” he added.
