YouTube announced on Tuesday that this was the case create a new frame to suppress medical misinformation on the platform.
“In the years since we worked to make YouTube a destination for high-quality health content, we have learned crucial lessons about developing community guidelines that align with local and global health authority guidelines on health topics. that pose serious real-world risks like misinformation about COVID-19, vaccines, reproductive health, harmful substances, etc.,” reads a blog post from the video-sharing site. We’re using what we’ve learned so far about the most effective ways to combat medical misinformation to simplify our approach for creators, viewers and partners.”
The platform has faced controversy in recent years for its algorithm the way in which can direct viewers misleading and extremist content. In 2021, YouTube said it deleted over a million videos linked to “dangerous information about coronavirus” since the start of the epidemic in the United States
YouTube said it would use three categories, “Prevention, Treatment and Denial” to sort the types of medical misinformation on the platform.
It will remove content that contradicts the directives of health authorities on the prevention and transmission of certain diseases, in particular vaccines. It will also remove content that contradicts treatment guidelines, including videos promoting unproven remedies in lieu of treatment, and content that denies the existence of specific conditions, including COVID-19, according to YouTube .
The platform said its new policies “will apply to specific health conditions, treatments and substances whose content contradicts local health authorities or the World Health Organization (WHO).”
“To determine whether a condition, treatment or substance falls within the scope of our medical misinformation policies, we will assess whether it is associated with a high risk to public health, using publicly available guidance from health authorities from around the world and is generally prone to misinformation,” the post read.
The post also highlights new policies targeting misinformation about cancer treatment. The company said it would begin removing “content promoting cancer treatments that have been proven to be harmful or ineffective, or content that discourages viewers from seeking professional medical treatment.”
“This includes content that promotes unproven treatments in place of approved care or as a guaranteed cure, as well as treatments that have been specifically deemed harmful by health authorities,” the post continues. “For example, a video that claims ‘garlic cures cancer’ or ‘take vitamin C instead of radiotherapy’ would be removed. »
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