YouTube

==== Handling of COVID-19 pandemic and other misinformation ====
Following the dissemination via YouTube of [[misinformation related to the COVID-19 pandemic]] that [[5G]] communications technology was responsible for the spread of [[coronavirus disease 2019]] which led to multiple 5G towers in the United Kingdom being attacked by arsonists, YouTube removed all such videos linking 5G and the coronavirus in this manner.<ref name="guardian-youtube-to-suppress-content-spreading-coronavirus-5g-conspiracy-theory">{{cite news |last=Hern |first=Alex |date=April 5, 2020 |title=YouTube moves to limit spread of false coronavirus 5G theory |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/05/youtube-to-suppress-content-spreading-coronavirus-5g-conspiracy-theory |access-date=April 5, 2020}}</ref>

In September 2021, YouTube extended this policy to cover videos disseminating misinformation related to any vaccine, including those long approved against measles or Hepatitis B, that had received approval from local health authorities or the [[World Health Organization]].<ref name="WaPo20210929">{{cite news |last=Pannett |first=Rachel |date=January 29, 2021 |title=Russia threatens to block YouTube after German channels are deleted over coronavirus misinformation |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/09/29/russia-ban-youtube-german-coronavirus/ |access-date=September 30, 2021}}</ref><ref name="NYT20210929">{{cite news |last=Alba |first=Davey |author-link=Davey Alba |date=September 29, 2021 |title=YouTube bans all anti-vaccine misinformation |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/29/technology/youtube-anti-vaxx-ban.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211228/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/29/technology/youtube-anti-vaxx-ban.html |archive-date=December 28, 2021 |url-access=limited |access-date=September 30, 2021}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The platform proceeded to remove the accounts of anti-vaccine campaigners such as [[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]] and [[Joseph Mercola]].<ref name="NYT20210929" />

YouTube had extended this moderation to non-medical areas. In the weeks following the [[2020 United States presidential election]], the site added policies to remove or label videos promoting election fraud claims;<ref>{{cite news |url=https://apnews.com/article/youtube-election-misinformation-removal-74ca3738e2774c9a4cf8fbd1e977710f |title=Weeks after election, YouTube cracks down on misinformation |first=Barbara |last=Ortutay |date=December 9, 2020 |access-date=June 2, 2023 |work=[[Associated Press News]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Lee |first=Timothy B. |date=December 9, 2020 |title=YouTube bans videos claiming Trump won |url=https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/12/youtube-bans-videos-claiming-trump-won/ |access-date=January 31, 2024 |website=[[Ars Technica]] |language=en-us}}</ref> however, it reversed this policy in June 2023, citing that the removal was necessary to "openly debate political ideas, even those that are controversial or based on disproven assumptions".<ref>{{cite news |date=June 1, 2023 |title=YouTube changes policy to allow false claims about past US presidential elections |url=https://apnews.com/article/youtube-election-misinformation-policy-42a6c1b7623c485dbc04eb76ad443247 |access-date=June 2, 2023 |work=[[Associated Press]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Brodkin |first=Jon |date=June 2, 2023 |title=YouTube now allows videos that falsely claim Trump won 2020 election |url=https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2023/06/youtube-now-allows-videos-that-falsely-claim-trump-won-2020-election/ |access-date=January 31, 2024 |website=Ars Technica |language=en-us}}</ref>

Google and YouTube implemented policies in October 2021 to deny monetization or revenue to advertisers or content creators that promoted [[climate change denial]], which "includes content referring to climate change as a hoax or a scam, claims denying that long-term trends show the global climate is warming, and claims denying that greenhouse gas emissions or human activity contribute to climate change."<ref>{{cite web |last=Peters |first=Jay |date=October 7, 2021 |title=Google and YouTube will cut off ad money for climate change deniers |url=https://www.theverge.com/2021/10/7/22715102/google-youtube-climate-change-deniers-ads-monetization |work=[[The Verge]] |access-date=October 7, 2021}}</ref> In January 2024, the [[Center for Countering Digital Hate]] reported that climate change deniers were instead pushing other forms of climate change denial that have not yet been banned by YouTube, including false claims that global warming is "beneficial or harmless", and which undermined climate solutions and [[climate science]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Belanger |first=Ashley |date=January 16, 2024 |title=Climate denialists find new ways to monetize disinformation on YouTube |url=https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/01/youtube-profits-from-videos-claiming-global-warming-is-beneficial/ |access-date=January 31, 2024 |website=Ars Technica |language=en-us}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=January 17, 2024 |title=YouTube making money off new breed of climate denial, monitoring group says |url=https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/youtube-making-money-off-new-breed-climate-denial-monitoring-group-says-2024-01-16/ |access-date=January 31, 2024 |work=[[Reuters]]}}</ref>

In July 2022, YouTube announced policies to combat misinformation surrounding [[abortion]], such as videos with instructions to perform abortion methods that are considered unsafe and videos that contain misinformation about the [[safety of abortion]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Elias |first=Jennifer |date=July 21, 2022 |title=YouTube says it will crack down on abortion misinformation and remove videos with false claims |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/21/youtube-says-it-will-crack-down-on-abortion-misinformation.html |access-date=July 21, 2022 |publisher=CNBC |language=en}}</ref>