YouTube removes Washington school meeting after attendees spout COVID misinformation

YouTube took down a Washington school board meeting video after members of the audience spread misinformation about masks and the COVID-19 vaccine during the public comment period, the district said.

Vancouver Public Schools held a board meeting July 13, where parents and community members spoke for over an hour, according to an audio file uploaded onto the district’s website.

Many speakers expressed their disdain for the district’s mask policy, which holds that all students and staff must wear face coverings on school grounds, inside buildings and on buses. Some speakers also tried to discredit the effectiveness of vaccines developed to protect people from COVID-19.

It was comments like these, the district says, that prompted YouTube to remove the video posted on the VPS Board of Directors channel. The website took down the original video on July 17, The Columbian reported.

Most of those speaking against COVID-19 vaccines and protocols were emotional about the school district’s policy.

“Children are dying and suffering life altering health consequences due to this vaccine,” one woman said.

Another speaker said he came to “spread a little truth” and refused to show board members respect, saying, “We can come here and talk however we want to any of you.”

He then proceeded to voice his opinion on masks.

“If you had any ability to read data, you’d know that even N95 masks don’t filter down to the level of viruses,” the man said.

A woman who spoke in support of vaccination and the school’s masking policy was shouted down by other audience members before a district official threatened to have those protesting removed from the meeting.

A version of the video without the public comment portion was uploaded to YouTube on July 19.

YouTube’s medical misinformation policy

YouTube’s policy states that the company will remove videos that spread medical misinformation, including:

• Claims that wearing a mask is dangerous or causes negative physical health effects
• Claims that masks do not play a role in preventing the contraction or transmission of COVID-19
• Claims about COVID-19 vaccinations that contradict expert consensus from local health authorities or [the World Health Organization], such as claims that an approved COVID-19 vaccine will cause death, infertility, miscarriage, autism, or contraction of other infectious diseases

COVID vaccines in the U.S.

Three companies have developed COVID vaccines that have been authorized for emergency use by the Food and Drug Administration, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC says it is unclear how long “natural immunity” will last after someone recovers from the virus, so the agency recommends getting vaccinated, as the immunizations have proven to be safe and effective.

Washington reached its goal of vaccinating 70% of residents 16 and older on July 14, according to the Department of Health.

Vancouver, with a population of over 184,000, is in Clark County, where there are currently 24,931 confirmed cases of COVID-19, an increase of 251 from last week.

School starts Aug. 31 in the Vancouver district.

This story was originally published July 23, 2021 at 8:50 AM with the headline "YouTube removes Washington school meeting after attendees spout COVID misinformation."