Nov 24 (Reuters) - YouTube said on Tuesday it had barred the
right-wing outlet One America News Network from posting new
videos for a week after it broke the site's rules against
content that claims there is a guaranteed cure for COVID-19.
A spokeswoman for YouTube, the video-sharing platform owned
by Alphabet's Inc's Google, said OAN had also been
suspended from monetizing its videos due to repeated violations
of the COVID-19 misinformation policy and other rules. OAN will
have to reapply to be allowed to monetize again.
President Donald Trump has promoted OAN, calling it a "great
alternative" to Fox News in a tweet this month. The outlet has
amplified Trump's unsupported claims of voter fraud in the U.S.
presidential election.
YouTube said it has a "three-strikes policy" before an
account is removed and this constituted OAN's first strike. OAN
did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The YouTube spokeswoman said an OAN video, now removed, had
violated its coronavirus misinformation rules by claiming that
hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malarial drug touted by Trump
despite a lack of scientific evidence, was a cure for COVID-19.
YouTube and other major online platforms are under scrutiny
from lawmakers and researchers to curb misinformation on their
sites. Following the November election, Reuters identified
several YouTube channels making money from ads and memberships
that were amplifying debunked accusations about voting fraud.
At a congressional hearing last week with the CEOs of
Facebook Inc and Twitter Inc, Democratic Senator
Richard Blumenthal criticized Google, YouTube's owner, saying it
had been given a "pass" and was being rewarded for its
"timidity" in content moderation.
Four Democratic senators also sent a letter on Tuesday to
YouTube's Chief Executive Officer Susan Wojcicki urging the
video platform to remove content that they said spread
misinformation on election results and pressing for information
on measures taken ahead of the runoff U.S. Senate elections in
Georgia.
(Reporting by Elizabeth Culliford; Editing by Tom Brown)