YouTube has deleted Russian state-backed broadcaster RT’s German-language channels, saying they had breached its Covid misinformation policy.
“YouTube has always had clear community guidelines that outline what is allowed on the platform,” said a spokesperson.
RT’s German channel was initially issued a strike for uploading content that violated YouTube’s Covid misinformation policy, resulting in a suspension of posting rights on the platform for a week.
During that suspension, the Russian broadcaster tried to use another channel to circumvent the ban on uploading.
“As a result both channels were terminated for breaking YouTube Terms of Service,” said the spokesperson.
All videos uploaded to YouTube must comply with its guidelines which sets up the type of content allowed to be on the platform.
The move follows similar bans or suspensions by YouTube of other news outlets over Covid misinformation. In August this year, Sky News Australia was banned from uploading to YouTube for seven days for videos that denied the existence of Covid and encouraged people to use hydroxychloroquine or ivermectin as treatments.
Other outlets that have faced suspensions over Covid content include Britain’s oneTalk radio, which was suspended for a few hours in January this year, and the One America News Network, which was suspended from posting new videos for a week in November 2020.
With Reuters
