On Feb. 22, YouTube officially demonetized anti-vax channels.
- Big advertisers were unaware of their ad placement on anti-vax videos and voiced concern upon discovery.
- YouTube removed all ads from anti-vax videos.
- YouTube claims that anti-vax messaging violates company policies.
- A new information panel about vaccines appears on anti-vax videos.
To vaccinate or not to vaccinate? Perhaps vaccinating your child wasn’t even a question. Or perhaps you a member of the growing anti-vaccination movement. This outspoken minority has caused recent controversy, including spreading problematic messages through YouTube videos.
Big advertisers were unaware that their ads were running on anti-vaccination videos. However, when they realized this situation, seven different large advertisers voiced their concern and immediately removed their ad content. In response, YouTube officially demonetized all ads on anti-vaccination videos and channels.
YouTube stated that anti-vax content violates their policies. They must prohibit ads on videos with “dangerous and harmful” messaging. A YouTube spokesperson said: “anti-vaccination content is a violation of these policies. We enforce these policies vigorously, and if we find a video that violates them, we immediately take action and remove the ads.”
In addition, YouTube has also introduced an information panel regarding vaccines. This panel previously appeared on some anti-vaccination content, but now appears on a larger array of anti-vaccination videos. The panel links to Wikipedia pages about “vaccine hesitancy” and other relevant topics.
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This article was written by Carissa Brones.
