You’re certainly aware of the fact that over a dozen of the major online social media platforms and other supposedly open content values have banned the Alex Jones channel in a sweeping coordinated move that took place in just 12 hours. That’s a great way to dissuade the conspiracy theorists, isn’t it? Shut them down in a massively concerted attack. Brilliant.
Well, YouTube and other platforms have been censoring, shadow banning, and attempting to prevent alternative media from taking a piece of their pie for some time now. This is nothing new, and it’s even older than the “Fake News” propaganda that so hilariously backfired on the MSM.
But that’s not enough for YouTube. Now, they are planning to offer politically correct “fact checking” bubbles and banners on YouTube videos warning against the dangers of vaccinations.
As usual, this is being used by and large to prevent people from getting accurate information about one vaccine product in particular- the MMR triple vaccine.
The MMR vaccine is composed of vaccines for measles, mumps, and rubella. They are given all at once- and often given to very small children between six and twelve months of age.
What critics of the MMR vaccine want is not to abandon all vaccinations, but to spread out the three shots that are all lumped into the MMR vaccine. They also want children to be able to wait longer before being given these vaccines.
The so-called “anti-vaxxers” are much more reasonable than their virulent opponents would have us believe. We are told that anyone who even questions the safety of the MMR vaccine and the schedule on which it is given is stridently opposed to all vaccinations. This is not the case at all. There have been many instances of respected clinical researchers being drummed out of their profession for just asking the question of whether or not the MMR is safe and should be given at such a young age.
Media hit pieces against these medical professionals have been many, frequent, and underhanded. The general public has been inundated with negative messages about them that portray them as fringe lunatics.
Well, the messages that you can expect to see overlaid and above and below YouTube videos on the topic are bound to be equally demonizing of the ideas and creators. In light of the recent bannings, it wouldn’t be surprising if people started losing their creator accounts over simple vaccine-related content.
The platform started experimenting with the overlaid messages in June. If users click on the links provided by YouTube, they are taken, usually, to Wikipedia pages on vaccines.
Wikipedia, it’s worth mentioning, is not a place where scientists and other professionals publish their professional opinions and empirical findings. It is a place where private wonks submit content and have it approved or disapproved by the site’s staff. This, like YouTube itself, makes Wikipedia a much less democratic platform than it claims to be.
Many pundits and thinkers have criticized the recent banning of Alex Jones and others as unwise. Jordan Peterson, the Canadian psychologist says, “I’m not saying they don’t have the right to ban these channels. I’m saying that it isn’t a good idea. They are giving themselves an amount of work that no one could possibly handle. They are setting themselves up with the moral responsibility to individually vet every piece of content that get a hold of. They will never run out of urgent decisions to make.”
Peterson’s point is that excessive moralizing is a full like job. He and others like him suggest that it is a burden of sufficient weight, that it could crash the platform- and others as well.
Similarly, these new “fact check” banners are going to represent a moral calling of a scope and depth that YouTube will not be able to shoulder it without incurring significant losses.
Consider all of the moral panics of recent history. There was the red scare of the 1950s and 1960s. It collapsed under its own weight. There was simply too much suspicion to handle. Then there was the satanic panic of the 1980s. That was a spectacular disaster leaving many innocent victims in its wake.
If YouTube continues down this heavy-handed, moralizing path- they are unlikely to survive another ten years- if history serves as a guide.
~ Health Scams Exposed
