YouTube, American online video-sharing platform, says it would be banning “medically unsubstantiated” contents that contradict the provisions of the World Health Organisation (WHO) on how to tackle the coronavirus pandemic.
According to CNN, Susan Wojcicki, chief executive officer (CEO) of the firm, said the announcement is part of YouTube’s “numerous policy changes” introduced to combat misinformation during the pandemic.
She added that the Google-owned service was disturbed by the different claims that have not been scientifically proven but are holding sway on the internet suggesting how the killer virus can be treated.
“So people saying, ‘Take vitamin C, take turmeric, we’ll cure you,’ those are the examples of things that would be a violation of our policy. Anything that would go against World Health Organization recommendations would be a violation of our policy,” she told the news outlet.
Wojcicki went on to reveal that YouTube had seen a 75 percent increase in demand for news from “authoritative” sources amid the strings of misinformation online.
The move comes days after WhatsApp, a US-run messaging service, also disclosed it would be limiting the messaging forwarding feature on its platform to slow the spread of fake news on COVID-19.
It is also the latest move by YouTube to further tackle the spread of COVID-19 across the globe.
TheCable Lifestyle had earlier reported how the platform launched ‘Stay Home #With Me’ campaign to join fight against pandemic.