WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 02nd October, 2021) ASHINGTON, October 1 (Sputnik), Ekaterina Chukaeva - YouTube's recent crackdown on anti-vaccine videos and accounts, while seen by some as a positive sign, testifies to the fact that social media giants are no longer neutral parties but have become both judge and jury on available content, Erik Qualman, an author and social economics expert, told Sputnik.
"This is just the tip of the iceberg around a massive change that is coming around disinformation. While some may view it as good that YouTube and parent company Google are stepping in around this particular instance to help reduce disinformation (something Facebook has epically failed to do), there (are) massive implications beyond this when the social media companies are no longer neutral parties but are playing both judge and jury on what content we see," he said.
The key issue for all these social media giants is to have strong guidelines around what is and is not allowed on their platforms, Qualman said, adding that they should be as consistent as possible in the monitoring, removal, and punishment. Much more is expected concerning this important shift in policy.
Earlier in the week, YouTube announced that it will be removing prominent channels from its platform known for contradicting officially approved information on COVID-19 and vaccines, confirmed safe and effective by the World Health Organization and local health officials. In particular, the online media giant banned the channels belonging to Joseph Mercola, the Children's Health Defense Fund (Robert F. Kennedy, Jr affiliated channel), Erin Elizabeth, and Sherri Tenpenny. Several months ago, the company terminated channels associated with Rashid Bhuttar, and Ty and Charlene Bollinger.
Speaking of its new guidelines, YouTube explained that content debating the effectiveness and safety of vaccines has been produced for years despite guidance from health authorities to the contrary. The online media company noted that since last year, it has already deleted over 130,000 videos for violating its COVID-19 vaccine policies.
The media giant added that the guidelines will not only cover specific vaccinations but will also apply to general statements about vaccines.
