Wellness

YouTube removes video from Sen. Ron Johnson for COVID-19 misinformation

The senator violated the site's medical misinformation policy.

Corinne Reichert Senior Writer

Corinne Reichert (she/her) grew up in Sydney, Australia and moved to California in 2019. She holds degrees in law and communications, and currently writes news, analysis and features for CNET across the topics of electric vehicles, broadband networks, mobile devices, big tech, artificial intelligence, home technology and entertainment. In her spare time, she watches soccer games and F1 races, and goes to Disneyland as often as possible.

Expertise News, mobile, broadband, 5G, home tech, streaming services, entertainment, AI, policy, business, politics Credentials

I've been covering technology and mobile for 12 years, first as a telecommunications reporter and assistant editor at ZDNet in Australia, then as CNET's West Coast head of breaking news, and now in the Thought Leadership team.

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Corinne Reichert

June 11, 2021 12:56 p.m. PT

Angela Lang/CNET

Republican Sen. Ron Johnson has been blocked by YouTube for seven days because he shared a video where he spread misinformation about COVID-19 treatment, as reported earlier Friday by Business Insider. Johnson, a critic of what he calls "big tech censorship," used the video to promote two drugs that have not been proven to work effectively in treating COVID-19.

"We removed the video in accordance with our COVID-19 medical misinformation policies, which don't allow content that encourages people to use Hydroxychloroquine or Ivermectin to treat or prevent the virus," a YouTube spokesperson told CNET in an emailed statement.

The video-sharing site doesn't allow medical misinformation posing a serious risk of harm to be spread, or content that contradicts global and local health authorities about COVID-19 treatment, transmission and prevention.

Sen. Johnson didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

YouTube said in January that it had removed more than 500,000 videos for spreading COVID-19 misinformation, after banning vaccine misinformation in October and blocking accounts like One America Network for spreading such misinformation.

The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice. Always consult a physician or other qualified health provider regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition or health objectives.

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