The first half of the conspiracy documentary, Plandemic, was removed several times from YouTube, according to The Washington Post. Twitter and Facebook also made statements to other media outlets confirming that both platforms were suppressing hashtags and content related to the documentary.
A YouTube spokesperson told The Post that the company takes down “content that includes medically unsubstantiated diagnostic advice for covid-19.” This includes Plandemic.
The 26-minute long clip featured an interview with Judy Mikovits, a former medical researcher and critic of the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases director Dr. Anthony Fauci. In the interview, Mikovits touted a medical paper that she had written that eventually was retracted. She also claimed that the coronavirus was not a “natural occurrence,” according to CNET.
The video found a home on Vimeo until that platform took it down as well. Vimeo told The Post that the company “stands firm in keeping our platform safe from content that spreads harmful and misleading health information. The video in question has been removed by our Trust & Safety team for violating these very policies.”
According to CNET, Facebook also confirmed that it was removing the video. “Suggesting that wearing a mask can make you sick could lead to imminent harm, so we're removing the video,” said a Facebook spokesperson.
Twitter also chose to restrict the film and its hashtags, said CNET. The platform told CNET that the video was marked as unsafe, and any links to the Plandemic website were also marked as unsafe.
