YouTube says it is banning prominent anti-vaccine activists, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr, and blocking all anti-vax content, not just about COVID-19 vaccines

Washington Post 2021-09-30 Gerrit De Vynck

Context & Ripple Effects

YouTube had already moved from removing ads and adding vaccine-hesitancy information panels to a 2020 rule against COVID-19 vaccine claims that conflicted with health-authority consensus. The new policy extends that moderation boundary beyond COVID-19 and targets prominent accounts including Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

First-order effects

YouTube will remove anti-vaccine material across vaccine topics and ban named activists, cutting off their access to the platform’s distribution and monetization systems.
The company replaces a COVID-specific misinformation rule with a broader content standard, giving its enforcement teams a wider category of claims to police.

Second-order effects

Instagram had also removed Kennedy’s account over vaccine-related claims, so YouTube’s action reinforces a cross-platform constraint on the same high-profile speaker rather than leaving a major video outlet as an obvious substitute.
Creators making vaccine-related videos face a sharper incentive to align claims with health-authority guidance, while YouTube must distinguish prohibited anti-vaccine content from permitted discussion of vaccines.

Third-order effects

The progression from ad limits and information panels to account bans points to platform safety policies becoming more willing to restrict entire misinformation categories, not merely reduce their revenue or add context.
The later restoration of Kennedy’s Instagram account after his presidential bid shows that account-level enforcement can become entangled with public-facing political decisions, increasing pressure for consistently applied moderation rules.

The trend: Large platforms are moving from limited friction on vaccine misinformation toward broader, account-level enforcement, while the durability of those bans remains a governance challenge.

Discussion

@imi_ahmed Imran Ahmed on x
YouTube has acted on many of the Disinformation Dozen today. But they are still reaching 6.4 million followers on Facebook and Instagram. @Facebook remains the home of dangerous anti-vaxx lies. Your move, Zuck. https://www.axios.com/...
@selenagomez Selena Gomez on x
So glad @youtube is taking action. I wish Mark Zuckerberg, @sherylsandberg, and @Facebook would do the same! https://twitter.com/...
@brandyzadrozny Brandy Zadrozny on x
Anti-vaxxers don't have science, they have stories. They tell those stories with scary videos of children, falsely linking their pain to vaccines. The messaging and algorithms are so strong, that it pushed pro-vaccine groups off YouTube altogether IN 2008. https://www.nbcnews.com…
@drhoenderkamp Renee Hoenderkamp on x
The question is who decides what is misinformation? YouTube Bans Anti-Vaccine Misinformation - The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/...
@brandyzadrozny Brandy Zadrozny on x
YouTube bans anti-vaccine videos, bans major accounts. Why this is actually a very big deal: https://www.nbcnews.com/...
@andrewhclark Andrew Clark on x
Big Tech has become an enforcement arm of our Public Health Class. They're not serving society - though they may tell themselves that at night. They're serving the Ruling Class of elites who don't like others questioning their authority. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
@mtracey Michael Tracey on x
YouTube announces that it has officially delegated its moderation enforcement policies to “medical consensus,” whatever that means exactly. This new rule in particular is so vague that even discussion of scientific studies could potentially get you banned https://blog.youtube/...…
@reallykazcooke Kaz Cooke on x
At last. Too late for dozens of babies & toddlers in 2019 who died of measles in Samoa, which was targeted by antivaxxers Taylor Winterstein & Robert Kennedy jnr. Social media must stop helping unrepentant extremists who endanger the lives of children. @facebook @instagram https:…
@brooklynmarie Brooke Binkowski on x
Just in time to avert a disinfo-driven catastrophe during an airborne global pandemic! https://twitter.com/...
@draseemmalhotra Dr Aseem Malhotra on x
The pharmaceutical industry decides https://twitter.com/...
@chuckrossdc Chuck Ross on x
YouTube bans a scion of the most prominent family in Democratic politics, but the public perception is that it's conservatives who are the antivaxxers https://twitter.com/...
@millerstream Jon Miller on x
They've been blocking “misinformation” for YEARS, and the time to act was ages ago...before they got comfortable enough to make it official policy and say it out loud. https://twitter.com/...
@aetiology Dr. Tara C. Smith on x
Color me skeptical. On other social media sites that have suggested a crackdown on misinformation, still lots of it left. Many “medical freedom” groups still thrive on Facebook, for example. https://twitter.com/...
@ajzahuranec Andrew J. Zahuranec on x
@smsaideman It's always interesting to me how little scrutiny YouTube gets relative to Facebook, Twitter despite the enormous role it plays in the information ecosystem. Suspect part of this stems from the kinds of platforms journalists and Hill staff are using regularly.
@netpoette Annette Gartland on x
YouTube says “content that FALSELY alleges that approved vaccines ... cause chronic health effects ... will be removed”. There is clear and accepted evidence that vaccines can and do cause chronic health effects! https://blog.youtube/...
@brandyzadrozny Brandy Zadrozny on x
The question now, as always, is will YouTube enforce their new policy? Will anti-vaxxers—a savvy, financially-motivated opportunistic bunch—get the better of the platforms again? https://www.nbcnews.com/...
@moonalice Roger McNamee on x
YT's ban of antivax videos and major accounts is important and welcome. In theory, it is a step up from YT's earlier ban. Whenever a major internet platform announces a crackdown on harmful content and accounts, remember to hold your applause until we know how effective it is. ht…
@adamconover Adam Conover on x
YouTube has been pushing falsehoods about vaccines for years. Watch a 5 minute factual video, and their algorithm would autoplay you hours of lies — lies that they sold ads on and profited from. This move barely begins to make amends for the damage done. https://www.nytimes.com/.…
@americanatheist American Atheists on x
YouTube's algorithm has radicalized countless people into believing a vaccine is the “Mark of the Beast.” The company waited far too long to address this problem. https://twitter.com/...
@beardedstoner @beardedstoner on x
I like how they jumped on this right away and didn't let it fester for years. https://twitter.com/...
@philip_germain @philip_germain on x
Ok now do election misinformation https://twitter.com/...
@laralogan Lara Logan on x
This reeks of desperation. As they say “the cover-up is worse than the crime”. YouTube Bans Anti-Vaccine Misinformation - The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/...
@hilaryluros Hil.i.am on x
As soon as Facebook has enough money, they'll do this, too. I'm absolutely positively indubitably sure of it. https://twitter.com/...
@qorigins @qorigins on x
Big if true. The platforms certainly have enough *info* to do a thorough job of this — witness the great QAnon purge of January 8th here on Twitter — but there have been so many occasions where they announced a crackdown and then did something half-assed. I guess we'll see! https…
@brandyzadrozny Brandy Zadrozny on x
So what do you think we might expect when Covid vaccines are approved next month? Terrifying videos that suggest vaccines are dangerous. It won't be mommy bloggers shaking or Instagram influencers fumbling with magnets. It'll be children. It'll feel real. https://www.nbcnews.com/…
@mmasnick Mike Masnick on x
In my crystal ball, I see frivolous lawsuits filed by some of these people in YouTube's future. https://twitter.com/...
@sheeraf Sheera Frenkel on x
This Youtube ban on anti-vaccine activists is going to have a big impact on the anti-Vaxx economy, where supplements and merchandise have made a small group of people very wealthy. https://twitter.com/...
@aslavitt Andy Slavitt on x
YouTube eliminating misinformation on vaccines. Facebook, your move. https://www.wsj.com/...
@sewellchan Sewell Chan on x
Imagine how many thousands of lives could have been saved if Google/YouTube had made this decision months earlier. https://www.wsj.com/...
@brandyzadrozny Brandy Zadrozny on x
Anti-vaxxers haven't been shy about the fact that they were going to use Covid as a way in, to raise money and grow a movement against childhood vaccines. Like, they literally said it. In January 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@wiczipedia Nina Jankowicz on x
Totally agree with @daveyalba- not only is this policy quite late in its appearance, it is imminently exploitable, and we know that disinformers are expert at doing just that. https://twitter.com/...
@donie Donie O'Sullivan on x
One of the anti-vaxxers banned by YouTube today was THE person a woman in Alabama recently cited to me as the main reason she wasn't getting vaccinated. She said she trusted that anti-vaxxer more than her own doctor. YouTube, too little too late.
@donie Donie O'Sullivan on x
Today's YouTube announcement on vaccines — rather than showing the company being pro-active — is a reminder of just how negligent they are. Reminds us of all the shit they allowed until now. https://blog.youtube/... https://twitter.com/...
@kantrowitz Alex Kantrowitz on x
As Facebook twists in the wind... https://www.nytimes.com/...
@fenitn Fenit Nirappil on x
“Misinformation researchers have for years said the popularity of anti-vaccine content on YouTube was contributing to growing skepticism of lifesaving vaccines in the United States and around the world.” https://twitter.com/...
@joshsternberg Josh Sternberg on x
Always fascinating when the platforms make decisions they could/should have made months/years ago. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
@phil_lewis_ Philip Lewis on x
Nearly 2 years and 700,000 deaths later: https://twitter.com/...
@stevekovach Steve Kovach on x
I'm confident YouTube can execute this flawlessly https://twitter.com/...
@evelyndouek Evelyn Douek on x
YouTube is getting called before Congress in the next few months, but I'm sure the timing of this is a coincidence and I totally buy their explanation: “Developing robust policies takes time” https://t.co/tsa8vSR9AT
@helenbranswell Helen Branswell on x
Gee, what took you so long, Google? https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
@mikedelmoro Michael Del Moro on x
YouTube will now ban any videos claiming vaccines approved by health authorities, like those for measles & chicken pox, are ineffective or dangerous (anti-Covid vaccine content was already blocked) https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
@evelyndouek Evelyn Douek on x
i like to think it's in response to the growing momentum behind the Wojcicki to the Hill 2021 campaign™ so she has some stuff to point to when she finally gets hauled before Congress
@evelyndouek Evelyn Douek on x
YouTube can insist all it likes that it has always had these rules and is enforcing them just like it always has, but something is going on there that's making it more ready to attract headlines https://www.theguardian.com/ ...

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