In YouTube’s ever-increasing quest to reduce conspiracy theories it has now announced that it’s going to actively remove any videos that suggest a link between the rollout of 5G and COVID-19.
Videos that suggest that the coronavirus pandemic lockdown is being used to pave the way for a faster 5G rollout or that suggest that 5G technology is being used to infect people with coronavirus, will no longer be recommended on the platform, YouTube says.
YouTube says that these videos could now be considered “borderline content,” will be automatically demonetized and even hidden in search results.
“We also have clear policies that prohibit videos promoting medically unsubstantiated methods to prevent the coronavirus in place of seeking medical treatment, and we quickly remove videos violating these policies when flagged to us,” a YouTube spokesperson said.
“We have also begun reducing recommendations of borderline content such as conspiracy theories related to 5G and coronavirus, that could misinform users in harmful ways.”
YouTube says that “falsehoods” about 5G technology that do not mention COVID-19 are not in violation of the platform’s policies but is still considered borderline content and is already hidden in search on the platform, as well as being suppressed from recommendations and demonetized.
