YouTube has announced that it is expanding its misinformation policy to remove false claims about a potential Covid-19 vaccination.
Claims that contradict local health authorities such as the NHS in the UK, or the World Health Organisation, will be removed.
This includes claims that the vaccine will kill people or cause infertility, as well as conspiracy theories that microchips will be implanted in people who receive the vaccine.
According to polls, half of Fox News viewers believe that Bill Gates wants to use a coronavirus vaccine to implant microchips into Americans for global surveillance.
YouTube is not the only technology giant struggling to contain coronavirus misinformation.
Social media companies are only taking down two per cent of reported posts spreading misinformation about vaccines, according to studies.
Twitter also added new labels and warning messages to “provide additional context and information” to tweets with “disputed or misleading information” about the coronavirus. »