YouTube removed a video of a Johnsburg School District 12 Board of Education meeting due to COVID-19 misinformation but then restored the video after an appeal.
The Northwest Herald reported that YouTube removed the July 13 board meeting from its site last week.
The board meeting was tense at times as parents voiced their opinions on the school district’s mask policy for the upcoming school year.
“Our children are not the problem. Our children do not deserve to go through another sh–ty year and wear masks,” one parent told school officials during public comment.
Gary Rabine, who is running for the GOP nomination for Illinois governor, appeared at the board meeting.
“Children are not spreaders. Children can be physically harmed by wearing masks. Children are socially stunted by wearing a mask,” Rabine said.
Also during the meeting, one person claimed there were cardiac issues resulting from COVID-19 vaccines.
YouTube’s policies say that the company does not allow content about COVID-19 “that poses a serious risk of egregious harm.”
“YouTube doesn’t allow content that spreads medical misinformation that contradicts local health authorities’ or the World Health Organization’s (WHO) medical information about COVID-19,” the policy says.
“This is limited to content that contradicts WHO or local health authorities’ guidance on treatment, prevention, diagnosis, transmission, social distancing and self-isolation guidelines, and the existence of COVID-19.”
Johnsburg School District 12 said they were not told the exact policy that was violated and they appealed the removal of the video.
A YouTube spokesperson told the Northwest Herald in an emailed statement that the company was reinstating the video “upon further review.”
“We have policies in place to allow content that might otherwise violate our policies as long as it includes educational, documentary, scientific or artistic (EDSA) context. In line with our EDSA policies, the video is available again on YouTube,” the spokesperson said.