YouTube on Wednesday announced a sizable expansion of its medical misinformation policies, which includes banning all content about vaccines that pose "a serious risk of egregious harm" to its viewers. Any videos that "falsely says that approved vaccines cause autism, cancer or infertility, or that substances in vaccines can track those who receive them" will also be censored. Personal testimonies will be allowed as long as they do not violate the community guidelines. The platform will terminate channels belonging to Erin Elizabeth, Joseph Mercola, Sherri Tenpenny and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — four individuals that the Center for Countering Digital Hate has affiliated with "The Disinformation Dozen" — for purportedly playing leading roles in spreading COVID-19 vaccine misinformation online. Certain countries such as Russia have pushed back against YouTube's restrictions, threatening to block the video platform altogether unless they revive two German-language channels ran by their state media company RT that were deleted after sharing what YouTube dubbed as COVID-19 misinformation. Since last year, the Google-owned platform has already removed over 130,000 "dangerous" videos that violated its COVID-19 vaccine policies. According to a recent study from Pew Research Center, about one in five Americans (22%) say they regularly get news from YouTube. 

Coverage across the spectrum prominently highlighted YouTube's new policies Wednesday. Left-and-center rated outlets were more likely to highlight how YouTube is the latest social media platform to follow the White House's plea to censor "The Disinformation Dozen" and other sources of vaccine misinformation. Right-rated outlets reemphasized other related instances, such as when YouTube suspended Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) for claiming cloth masks are ineffective against COVID-19.