YouTube is starting to crack down on videos with ‘anti-vaccination’ content

Video hosting website YouTube have made the decision to crack down on 'anti-vax' videos.

This comes after a backlash from their advertisers saying that they would no longer use the channel if their adverts continued to appear alongside anti-vaccination material. Videos containing 'anti-vax' content will now be flagged as 'harmful or dangerous'. The new rule means anti-vaccination videos will no longer be able to make money.

“YouTube on Friday said it would prevent channels that promote anti-vax content from running advertising, saying explicitly that such videos fall under its policy prohibiting the monetization of videos with ‘dangerous and harmful’ content.” https://t.co/0wjoeRHja2

— Brendan Nyhan (@BrendanNyhan) February 23, 2019

According to Scary Mommy advertisers were shocked when their ads appeared during videos like Mom Researches Vaccines, Discovers Vaccination Horrors and Goes Vaccine Free. Many companies do not want to be associated with the 'anti-vax' movement, especially amid the current measles outbreak effecting the United States. The anti-vaccination movement was also recently called one of the top ten global health risks to be faced in 2019 by the World Health Organisation.  While videos containing 'anti-vax' messages can no longer monetise their videos they will not be removed from the video sharing platform.