YouTube removes video of Georgia mother criticizing mask mandates for children: 'Medical misinformation'
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YouTube removed a conservative account’s video of a Georgia mother emotionally criticizing her local school board’s mask mandates last month, saying it spread medical misinformation despite not contradicting World Health Organization guidelines.
Courtney Ann Taylor called on suburban Atlanta’s Gwinnett County school board to stop requiring children to wear masks, saying her 6-year-old daughter and other school-age kids were being forced to “carry a burden that was never [theirs] to carry.”
Grabien’s Tom Elliott was informed by YouTube Thursday that he had violated community guidelines and the “medical misinformation policy” by posting the video of Taylor. Other versions of the viral speech are still on YouTube.
“Parents are allowed to express opinions over whether their children should be forced into wearing masks. Parents’ perspectives are a valid part of the public debate. This mother does not represent herself as a doctor or medical expert,” Elliott tweeted, adding he lost his appeal.
YouTube’s COVID-19 misinformation policy bans “content that spreads medical misinformation that contradicts local health authorities’ or the World Health Organization’s (WHO) medical information about COVID-19.”
However, the WHO’s guidance opposes mask requirements for children aged 5 and under, and it offers conditional advice on masks for children ages 6 to 11. They include taking into account “potential impact of wearing a mask on learning and psychosocial development, in consultation with teachers, parents/caregivers and/or medical providers.”
Part of Taylor’s argument was that school board members weren’t considering the emotional and social well-being of students who no longer wanted to wear masks.
“Shame on us! My 6-year-old looks at me every month before I come here, she says, ‘Are you going to tell them tonight? Tell them I don’t want to wear this anymore.’ And I say, ‘Baby, it’s not time to fight that battle yet. I try to explain that there’s so many things, that it’s April 15th, 2021, and it’s time. Take these masks off of my child,” she said.
YouTube did not respond to Fox News’ request for comment.
Fox News’ Kayleigh McEnany applauded Taylor last month when the video went viral.
“We’ve sacrificed our children,” she said. “It’s shameful, and that parent, [I’m] praising her for speaking up. Very well done.”
YouTube’s owner Google came under fire last month for removing a video of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, R., and public health experts saying children did not need to wear masks in school.
A spokesperson for YouTube told FOX Business that it has clear policies around COVID-19 related medical misinformation to support the safety of users.
“We removed this video because it included content that contradicts the consensus of local and global health authorities regarding the efficacy of masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19,” the spokesperson said. “We allow videos that otherwise violate our policies to remain on the platform if they contain sufficient educational, documentary, scientific, or artistic context. Our policies apply to everyone, and focus on content regardless of the speaker or channel.”
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In a statement, a spokesperson for DeSantis criticized the move as a “blatant example of Big Tech attempting to silence those who disagree with their woke corporate agenda.”
Fox Business’ Brittany De Lea contributed to this report.
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