2023-08-17 00:00:52
According to Statista, it is estimated that YouTube receives 14.3 billion monthly visits.
The platform announced changes to its misinformation policies to improve the quality of health content.
The changes include phasing out content that may misinform harmful cancer treatments.
Social media has transformed the world in many ways. Their impact is so great that today they are one of the population’s preferred media for entertainment and information. One of the most popular platforms is YouTube but one of its drawbacks is that over the last few years it has been flooded with fake news.
According to Statista, it is the video platform preferred by users around the world. Its impact is so great that it even surpasses several television channels. In fact, it is currently estimated that it receives 14.3 billion visits each month.
YouTube changes its policies
One of the constants inside YouTube is to promote a platform that offers high-quality content on health-related topics. The objective is to create a safe space for users, especially in matters that are constantly evolving, such as medical information.
Due to medical updates over time and learning in emergency situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic, YouTube needs a policy framework that is sustainable in the long term and can strike the right balance between remove extremely harmful content and ensure that there is space for dialogue, as well as debate, in studied areas of scientific consensus.
New Youtube measures against fake health news
That is why the platform made a series of changes within dozens of its information guidelines, classifying them into three different categories: Prevention, Treatment and Denial. These policies will apply to specific medical conditions, treatments and substances when the content conflicts with local health authorities or the World Health Organization (WHO).
To determine whether medical misinformation policies will include a condition, treatment, or substance, it will be assessed whether the content is associated with a topic that poses a high risk to public health, guidelines from publicly available global health authorities, and whether this topic or condition is often susceptible to misinformation. The scheme will have the following structure.
Misinformation about prevention
Content that contradicts the guidelines of the health authorities regarding the prevention and transmission of specific medical conditions, as well as the safety and efficacy of approved vaccines, will be removed from the platform. For example, content that promotes a harmful substance for the prevention or treatment of diseases.
Misinformation about treatment
Content that contradicts the guidelines of the health authorities regarding the treatment of certain medical conditions, including the promotion of specific harmful substances or practices, will be removed.
This includes content that encourages the use of unapproved remedies instead of seeking medical attention for particular conditions (promoting the use of cesium chloride as a cancer treatment, for example).
Misinformation with denial
Remove content that denies the existence of specific medical conditions. This includes anyone who denies the existence of deaths due to COVID-19 or other diseases. Through clearer rules and a transparent scheme, we will assess whether certain diseases or conditions should be included in the future.
Elimination of misinformation about cancer treatments
The platform’s mission is to ensure that when patients or their loved ones visit YouTube to research certain symptoms, learn about possible treatments or find a community, they can easily find high-quality content from trusted health sources.
In implementing this updated approach, misinformation related to cancer treatments fits the new scheme, as the risk it poses to public health is high.
Starting now and gradually over the coming weeks, content that promotes cancer treatments that have been shown to be harmful or ineffective, as well as content that discourages users from seeking professional medical attention for their treatment, will be removed. For example: content promoting unapproved treatments (a video saying “garlic cures cancer” or advising “take vitamin C instead of radiation therapy”) or replacing authorized medical care.
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