SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/Asia News Network): Content from a YouTube channel with an anti-vaccination stance has been removed after it was found to have violated the platform's community guidelines.
The channel is based on a group called Healing The Divide, founded by Iris Koh, and claims to warn people about the dangers of vaccination.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Sunday (Nov 7) that Koh's channel had a history of posting and sharing content that perpetuated falsehoods and misleading information about Covid-19 vaccines.
MOH said: "The government takes a serious view of the deliberate communication of these falsehoods and will not hesitate to take action against those who put the public's health and well-being at risk by spreading misinformation about Covid-19 and vaccines."
The ministry added that it welcomed the latest removal of content from Koh's YouTube channel, which included content titled Town Hall Meeting: United We Stand For Choice, and Healing The Divide: Remembering Those We Love and Lost.
Facebook had also previously suspended Koh's account on more than one occasion for violating community guidelines, MOH noted.
MOH said: "We advise members of the public not to speculate or spread misinformation which may cause public alarm, and to refer to credible sources of information instead."
A YouTube spokesman said the platform's Covid-19 Medical Misinformation policy removes claims about Covid-19 vaccinations that contradict expert consensus from local health authorities or the World Health Organisation.
The spokesman added: “Since October last year, we’ve removed over 130,000 videos for violating our Covid-19 vaccine policies. Additionally, we have vaccine alerts that point users to authoritative information about the Covid-19 vaccine.”
The Straits Times has reached out to Koh for comment.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Get 20% OFF The Star Digital Access
Cancel anytime. Ad-free. Unlimited access with perks.
