YouTube Takes 3-Part Approach to Covid-19 Vaccine Education Efforts

YouTube said Thursday that it has removed over 850,000 videos to date for violating its policies against Covid-19 misinformation, including more than 30,000 since the last quarter of 2020 specifically for misinformation related to the Covid-19 vaccine. Director and global head of healthcare and public health partnerships Garth Graham wrote in a blog post Thursday, “YouTube is committed to leveraging our platform’s reach (2 billion-plus monthly logged-in viewers) and the diversity of the YouTube creator community to help make the science of Covid-19 vaccines easy to understand and more accessible to people all over the world. This is a pivotal moment in history and in public health, and we are deeply invested in ensuring that we meet the moment as the platform where the world comes to watch and learn.” Graham said YouTube will use a three-pronged approach: Continuing to share authoritative information from local health authorities and community-based health-organizations; kicking off a multimillion-dollar global campaign to address vaccine hesitancy; and connecting creators with trusted health experts to reimagine how vaccine information is shared. The Google-owned video site has been working closely with more than 85 local health authorities and public health experts across the world since last March and shared information from those organizations in highly visible ways, with partner content and Covid-19 information panels reaching some 400 billion views. YouTube is working with partners that have experience and expertise in public health communication with key at-risk groups to help them create, amplify and promote their campaigns on the platform, including the Kaiser Family Foundation’s Greater Than Covid video campaign and the Black Coalition Against Covid-19 and Black Doctor Org video series to help answer top questions from the Black community about Covid and vaccines. The company is working with the Vaccine Confidence Project at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine on an upcoming global campaign to feature the personal stories of people getting vaccinated, and it is also working with Global Citizen on a global special, set to air in May, focusing on overcoming vaccine hesitancy and ensuring equitable distribution. Finally, YouTube is expanding efforts to connect influential creators and artists with relatable, trusted scientists and public health experts “for thoughtful, science-based but ultimately engaging and compelling videos,” saying that more than 60 of these collaboration videos have been posted, tallying over 65 million views. French President Emmanuel Macron challenged creators Carlito and McFly to create a video about Covid-19 safety that reached 10 million views, and their video did so in just three days, earning them a trip to the Elysée Palace for a question-and-answer session. Graham wrote in the blog post, “With the effects of the pandemic still being felt around the world, we’re constantly evolving our priorities to meet the changing needs of our global community. This is the first step in our vaccination education work, with much more in the works for the coming months.” Vaccine Confidence Project director Heidi Larson added, “Our work at the Vaccine Confidence Project is focused on monitoring and identifying the levels of public confidence and trust in vaccination—work that has been brought into sharp relief with the rollout of new Covid-19 vaccines. We are excited to collaborate with YouTube on a global education campaign to help address vaccine hesitancy and help to remind us all of what we have to look forward to as a vaccinated world recovers from the pandemic."

Coronavirus

YouTube Takes 3-Part Approach to Covid-19 Vaccine Education Efforts

Share authoritative information, address vaccine hesitancy with a global campaign and pair creators with experts

David Cohen

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David Cohen