YouTube crackdown on cancer treatment misinformation: Key details you need to know
Building on its earlier decision to remove videos with vaccine misinformation in 2021, YouTube is now extending its crackdown to include the removal of content that promotes harmful and ineffective cancer treatments. Additionally, videos that discourage viewers from seeking proper medical treatment will also be targeted. The initiative begins on Tuesday and will be progressively strengthened in the upcoming weeks.
Dr. Garth Graham, the global head of YouTube health, emphasized the platform's commitment to ensuring that individuals dealing with cancer and their loved ones can access trustworthy and accurate health-related content when they turn to YouTube. YouTube, a subsidiary of Google's parent company Alphabet, is simplifying its existing guidelines for medical misinformation into three main categories: prevention, treatment, and denial.
These guidelines are applicable to content that contradicts information from local health authorities or the World Health Organization (WHO), as outlined in a recent blog post. Under the newly established guidelines, YouTube will eliminate videos that promote unproven and harmful cancer treatments instead of medically approved methods. For instance, content suggesting that garlic can cure cancer or recommending vitamin C as an alternative to radiation therapy will be removed.
Moreover, YouTube has partnered with the Mayo Clinic to create a series of informative videos about various cancer conditions and the latest advancements in treatments. Cancer ranked as the second leading cause of death in the United States in 2020, resulting in over 602,000 fatalities, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The National Cancer Institute, a division of the US Department of
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