YouTube announces that it will delete content that advertises ``cancer treatments that have been proven to be harmful or ineffective''

YouTube has announced that it will remove content that promotes ``cancer treatments that have been proven to be harmful or ineffective'' and that discourages viewers from seeking professional treatment. YouTube says it applies its medical misinformation policy if there is a high public health risk, there is publicly available guidance from health authorities, or if the topic appears to be fake news.

A long term vision for YouTube's medical misinformation policies
https://blog.youtube/inside-youtube/a-long-term-vision-for-medical-misinformation-policies/

YouTube starts mass takedowns of videos promoting 'harmful or ineffective' cancer cures - The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/2023/8/15/23832603/youtube-cancer-treatment-misinformation-policy-medical

YouTube said on its official blog, ``In the future, YouTube will organize dozens of existing medical misinformation guidelines into three categories: prevention, treatment, and denial. It applies to certain health conditions, treatments and substances that are inconsistent with the health authorities of the United States or the World Health Organization (WHO).'

Below are the three categories of medical misinformation guidelines set by YouTube.

・Misinformation about prevention
Content that contradicts health authority guidance on the prevention and transmission of specific health conditions and the safety and efficacy of approved vaccines will be removed. This includes, for example, content that promotes harmful substances for disease prevention.

・Incorrect information about treatment
We remove content that contradicts health authority guidance on treating certain health conditions, such as promoting certain hazardous substances or practices. Examples include content that encourages unproven treatments instead of seeing a doctor for certain conditions, such as promoting cesium chloride as a cure for cancer.

・ Denial of incorrect information
Content that disputes the existence of certain health conditions will be removed. This includes content that denies deaths from COVID-19.

YouTube also 'will begin removing content that promotes cancer treatments proven to be harmful or ineffective, or content that prevents viewers from seeking professional care. Contains content that promotes unproven treatments, or treatments deemed particularly harmful by health authorities, instead of or as a guaranteed treatment.' According to YouTube, for example, movies that claim that 'garlic can cure cancer' or 'vitamin C should be taken instead of radiation therapy' are subject to deletion.

YouTube will also take action against content deemed harmful under its medical misinformation policy, such as movies that explain unsafe abortion methods and movies that make false claims about the safety of abortion. .

Furthermore, as an initiative to improve the quality of medical and health-related content on YouTube, we have collaborated with the YouTube channel of the Mayo Clinic, a general hospital headquartered in Minnesota, USA, to create new videos that provide various information about cancer. Announced to share content.

'Looking into the future, we want to ensure that we have a strong framework on which to base new medical misinformation policies as and when they become necessary. We will continue to monitor guidance from health authorities,' YouTube said. We will also ensure that our policies are followed, and we will clarify our approach so that content creators understand our policy boundaries and viewers know they can trust the health information they find on YouTube. And I want to make it transparent,' he commented.