Nov. 26 (UPI) — YouTube confirmed Tuesday it has suspended the One America News Network for violating its video platform policy on sharing COVID-19 misinformation.
The video company, which is owned by Google, said it has also removed OANN’s YouTube channel from its YouTube Partner Program, under which content creators earn a portion of ad revenue, for repeatedly violating its policy on misinformation.
The violation, or strike, prevents OANN from uploading any new videos for a week. The company must reapply to the YouTube Partner Program to start making money off its videos again. Three strikes could get the network permanently banned from YouTube.
“Since early in this pandemic, we’ve worked to prevent the spread of harmful misinformation associated with COVID-19 on YouTube,” the company said. “After careful review, we removed a video from OANN and issued a strike on the channel for violating our COVID-19.
YouTube said OANN posted a video that claimed there is a guaranteed cure for the coronavirus.
“Additionally, due to repeated violations of our COVID-19 misinformation policy and other channel monetization policies, we’ve suspended the channel from the YouTube Partner Program and as a result, monetization on YouTube,” YouTube said.
President Donald Trump had praised One America News Network in the past for reporting that appeared to support him and his policies. The president called on his supporters to view OANN instead of Fox News after Fox called Arizona for President-elect Joe Biden during the general election earlier this month.
