YouTube Will Remove Unsafe Abortion Tutorials & Birthing Falsehoods
In response to the controversy surrounding Roe v Wade, YouTube has announced it will be taking a harder stance on abortion-related misinformation on its platform.
The Google-owned site said it will be clamping down on and removing videos that feature content with falsehoods about abortion, or instructions of how to perform the procedure in an unsafe manner.
In a series of tweets, YouTube said it will be relying on “published guidance from health authorities,” and that it prioritized “connecting people to content from authoritative sources on health topics.”
3/ We’re also launching an information panel that provides viewers with context and information from local and global health authorities under abortion-related videos and above relevant search results. pic.twitter.com/dGzEn4bIb8
— YouTubeInsider (@YouTubeInsider) July 21, 2022
“We’re also launching an information panel that provides viewers with context and information from local and global health authorities under abortion-related videos and above relevant search results,” the site said.
As per NBC News, while the network did not specify which claims were deemed as harmful or false, it did link users to its general policy on misinformation, which highlights that information “that can cause real-world harm, like promoting harmful remedies or treatments,” are not allowed.
In the same vein, Google will be automatically erasing evidence of visits to abortion centers and Uber and Lyft will cover legal fees for drivers in states affected by the ban.
[via NBC News and The Washington Post, cover image via Vladyslav Yushynov | Dreamstime.com]
