YouTube’s announcement today that it will ban anti-vaccine information is an important step towards eliminating one factor that has prolonged the Covid pandemic: misinformation.
One of the best practices for managing and communicating about a crisis is to only share the latest and most accurate information about it. Another is to discourage others from posting wrong, outdated or misleading “facts”, opinions and advice about the situation and the steps that are taken to address it. The failure to do both can lengthen and worsen any crisis.
Good And Bad News
The good news about social media is that it is an effective way to immediately inform hundreds of millions of people about a crisis.
The bad news is that the same platforms that are used to inform can also be used by others with their own agendas to misinform and thereby extend a crisis.
From a crisis management perspective, YouTube’s announcement is welcome news for several reasons. It:
- Will eliminate a source of vaccine misinformation.
- Could help encourage people to get fully vaccinated, helping end the coronavirus crisis sooner rather than later.
- May spur other companies, organizations, social media platforms and websites to take steps against vaccine misinformation.
Statement From YouTube
In a blog post, YouTube said, “Today, we're expanding our medical misinformation policies on YouTube with new guidelines on currently administered vaccines that are approved and confirmed to be safe and effective by local health authorities and the WHO.”
YouTube said it will remove “content that falsely alleges that approved vaccines are dangerous and cause chronic health effects, claims that vaccines do not reduce transmission or contraction of disease, or contains misinformation on the substances contained in vaccines...”
It noted that, “This would include content that falsely says that approved vaccines cause autism, cancer or infertility, or that substances in vaccines can track those who receive them. Our policies not only cover specific routine immunizations like for measles or Hepatitis B, but also apply to general statements about vaccines.”
Latest Action
This is not the first time Youtube has taken action against misinformation. “Our Community Guidelines already prohibit certain types of medical misinformation,” according to their blog post.
“We've long removed content that promotes harmful remedies, such as saying drinking turpentine can cure diseases. At the onset of Covid-19, we built on these policies when the pandemic hit, and worked with experts to develop 10 new policies around COVID-19 and medical misinformation. Since last year, we’ve removed over 130,000 videos for violating our Covid-19 vaccine policies.”
‘Detrimental To The Health Of Americans’
Dr. Tyler Evans is a infectious disease and public health expert and co-founder of the Wellness Equity Alliance. He was the first chief medical officer for New York City, where he led the Office of Emergency Management’s medical response to Covid-19.
Evans said misinformation from anti-vaccination individuals and groups on social media platforms such as YouTube, “is detrimental to the health of Americans. There is no evidence to back up nearly all of their commentary, and they socially construct fear into millions of others who are paralyzed by disinformation.
“This paralysis continues to facilitate the new face of our pandemic—the ‘pandemic of the unvaccinated.’ These possible ‘vectors’ then place vulnerable communities at risk – especially those living in congregate care facilities with [the] immunocompromised. This anti-scientific rhetoric is a form of ‘hate speech,’ it is hurting Americans (if not worse) and it should be banned,” he recommended.
‘Truth Matters’
Peggy R. Bendel is a crisis management expert and president of Bendel Communications International. She observed that, ‘Truth matters and YouTube has now taken a clear and unambiguous stand pro-truth (or pro-facts!).
“[It’s] refusing to allow its popular and influential platform to be used to spread falsehoods and misinformation, an essential stance in the case of a world-wide pandemic or other public health emergency. No one should be permitted to transmit misinformation in a public health emergency!”
Advice For Business Leaders
Lessons
Bendel said, ‘The lesson for crisis managers and crisis communicators is clear: if you are involved in a crisis, the information you disseminate must be based on the facts as you know them to be accurate.
“Don't speculate, and if you discover inaccurate or speculative information being spread through social or traditional media, correct it promptly: do not let it persist uncorrected.
Monitor The Media
“As we all know, anything that appears online lives there forever, and so your monitoring of the media and immediate response to misinformation is an essential part of crisis communications and crisis management,’’ she advised.
Don’t Ignore
As I wrote last October, “Misinformation continues to grow at an alarming rate, along with its potential to infect corporations and organizations. No matter how it spreads — via fake news sites, traditional news organizations, or social media — companies that ignore and hope this crisis goes away may be putting their image, credibility, and reputation at risk.”
No Help For Business From U.S. Government
Business leaders should not hold their breath waiting for the federal government to help them in their battles against misinformation that can put the image and reputation of their companies at risk. Companies will have to continue to fend for themselves the best they can.
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September 29, 2021 at 11:20PM
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Why YouTube’s Ban On Anti-Vaccine Misinformation Is A Step In Right Direction - Forbes
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