YouTube Suspends Australian News Site For Discussing Data It Doesn’t Like

Video hosting website YouTube has suspended Sky News Australia's channel for a week after claiming that they violated the Google-enforced guidelines on COVID news and content. The videos in question include debates over the effectiveness of mask wearing, criticizing the lopsided logic of Dr. Anthony Fauci and other allegations slipped under the banner of "COVID misinformation."

Sky News Australia's platform currently hosts 1.86 million subscribers and is seen as a prominent conservative news source and therefore subject to the whims of Alphabet-Google.

Responding to the uproar over their strict moderation of discussion on public health policies, YouTube released a statement citing their pliable guidelines regarding COVID misinformation to justify their ban: "We have clear and established COVID-19 medical misinformation policies... to prevent the spread of COVID-19 misinformation that could cause real-world harm."

Digital editor at Sky News Australia Jack Houghton released a statement on YouTube's decision to accuse Sky News of "misinformation," accusing the platform of being intolerant to opposing views regarding COVID:

"Sky News Australia has been temporarily suspended from posting on the Google-owned platform YouTube for publishing opinion content the tech giant disagrees with.

"Among the videos deemed unpalatable for societal consumption were debates around whether masks were effective and whether lockdowns were justified when considering their adverse health outcomes."

The Reuters report claimed that the ban was due to Sky News Australia's promotion of the controversial treatment for COVID, hydroxychloroquine.

With YouTube's first hard strike issued on the channel, a three-strike ruling established by the platform would permanently ban the news network from uploading videos and sharing content.

The latest update on Google-YouTube's COVID-19 misinformation goes as follows: "Due to increased COVID-19 infections in certain parts of the world, we will continue to rely more on technology to quickly identify and remove content that violates our Community Guidelines."

Follow along on Twitter: @AlejandroAveela

Written by

Alejandro Avila lives in Southern California and previously covered news for the LA Football Network. Jeopardy expert and grumpy sports fan. Known for having watched every movie and constant craving for dessert. @alejandroaveela (on X)