YouTube’s crackdown on health misinformation will now purge fake cancer cures

YouTube is tired of unreliable information spreading on its platform. In the past, the social media site has taken a stand against misinformation, specifically in regard to public health. Now, the video-sharing giant is pushing back against cancer-treatment misinformation by removing content and streamlining videos on the subject into three categories.

On Tuesday, YouTube made the announcement via a blog post. “Our mission is to make sure that when [cancer patients and their loved ones] turn to YouTube, they can easily find high-quality content from credible health sources,” Dr. Garth Graham, global head of YouTube health, said in the post.

“This includes content that promotes unproven treatments in place of approved care or as a guaranteed cure, and treatments that have been specifically deemed harmful by health authorities,” he said, such as the misleading claim that patients should “take vitamin C instead of radiation therapy.”

While medical misinformation runs rampant on social media, YouTube seems to be striving to ensure it helps keep users safe in terms of how they use the site to learn about health. This new push comes after the 2021 decision to remove videos with misinformation related to vaccines. YouTube also pushed back on abortion misinformation, as well as content that may promote or glorify eating disorders.

The blog post said that the site will put videos into one of three categories: prevention, treatment, and denial, based on whether the information contradicts local health authorities or the World Health Organization. Not only will the shift rid the site of information that is not based in fact, it will also help users navigate content more easily.

The efforts will begin Tuesday, they said, revealing that the decision is one that is data-based. A 2020 study found that the top 150 YouTube videos on bladder cancer had subpar information. The content was rated “moderate to poor” in 67% of the videos. In regard to prostate cancer, an earlier study found similar results, with 77% of the videos containing biased viewpoints or misinformation.

The crackdown will likely mean that a lot of videos about cancer treatment are going to disappear from the site. That may mean it will be harder to find videos about alternative treatments that aren’t backed by hard data. While there may be some benefits to eating cloves of garlic or sprinkling turmeric in your armpits, if it’s not grounded in science, it won’t be on YouTube.