YouTube has issued a ‘strike’ against Sky News Australia, claiming the broadcaster breached its COVID-19 misinformation policies.
With 1.86 million YouTube subscribers, the channel is owned by a subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. This ban comes after YouTube reviewed some posts that were uploaded by the channel on the platform. Some of the questioned posts included videos where it was questioned by the Sky News Australia group whether the coronavirus pandemic existed or not and if the said efficacy of the vaccines was real. Some media reports say that these videos were widely circulated on different social media platforms which can reportedly, add to the existing vaccine hesitancy and also make people take coronavirus pandemic as a joke. The last YouTube upload, from three days ago, features a host claiming that lockdowns have failed and criticizing state authorities for extending Sydney’s current stay-at-home orders, reported The Australian. «We support broad discussion and debate on a wide range of topics and perspectives which is vital to any democracy,» Sky News’s spokesperson said, confirming the temporary ban.
