(ChurchLeaders) In a policy change announced Wednesday, the popular video-sharing site YouTube says it will no longer allow content from anti-vaxxers, that is, content that misinforms users about “currently administered vaccines that are approved and confirmed to be safe and effective by local health authorities and the WHO.” This includes vaccines for COVID-19 as well as “routine immunizations” for diseases such as measles.
As a result, the Google-owned site says it will remove the video channels of some well-known anti-vaccine activists, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Dr. Joseph Mercola. Both men were atop a recent “Disinformation Dozen” list that President Biden seemed to refer to in July when he said “bad information” on social media is “killing people.”
Although Facebook banned vaccine misinformation months ago, it hasn’t yet removed the pages of some prominent anti-vaxxers.