--- title: "YouTube Starts Pulling Ads on Anti-Vaccination Videos" description: "YouTube pulled programmatic ad placements on a number of anti-vaccination or anti-vax related channels, BuzzFeed News reports." date: "2019-02-23" modified: "2019-02-23" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/youtube-ads-anti-vaccination-videos" categories: - "Future Society" tags: - "advertising" - "platforms" - "the digest" - "YouTube" --- # YouTube Starts Pulling Ads on Anti-Vaccination Videos ![YouTube pulled programmatic ad placements on a number of anti-vaccination or anti-vax related channels, BuzzFeed News reports.]() *\Image: Tag Hartman-Simkins\* ## Anti-Vax Ads YouTube pulled programmatic ad placements on a number of anti-vaccination or "anti-vax" related channels, [*BuzzFeed News* reports](). “We have strict policies that govern what videos we allow ads to appear on, and videos that promote anti-vaccination content are a violation of those policies," a YouTube spokesperson told *BuzzFeed News*. "We enforce these policies vigorously, and if we find a video that violates them, we immediately take action and remove ads." A number of advertisers did not know their ads were being shown on videos that advocate against child vaccinations. Channels that were affected include "alternative medicine" channels and specifically anti-vaccination channels. Three of the channels *BuzzFeed News* identifies account for roughly 473,000 subscribers on YouTube, as [*The Verge* points out](). ## Compounding the Problem The news comes after YouTube personality Matt Watson [posted a video on Sunday]() exposing what he called a "soft-core pedophilia ring." A number of major brands rushed to pull their advertisements in response, including Disney, Netsle, and Epic Games, maker of the massively popular video game [Fortnite](). Earlier this year, the World Health Organization (WHO) [included the growing resistance to vaccination]() on its latest list of the gravest threats to global health alongside Ebola and air pollution. A number of recent [measles outbreaks]() in a number of places [around the world]() have refueled the debate over the anti-vaccination movement after the highly contagious disease was [considered eliminated]() in the U.S. back in 2000. YouTube is facing a massive uphill battle. Combined with the threat of a network of pedophiles using the platform to communicate, the video platform has a lot of fires to still put out. But big-name advertisers are starting to pay attention and are starting to turn the screws. **READ MORE:** [YouTube Just Demonetized Anti-Vax Channels]() \[*BuzzFeed News*\] ***More on YouTube: [While Pedophiles Flock to YouTube, Advertisers Flee It]()*** ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()