YouTube Removes Viral Video of Doctors Disagreeing with Coronavirus Health Directives

Written by Bruce Hausknecht | Citing its “Community Guidelines,” YouTube took down a viral video of two California doctors holding a press conference in which they disputed the need for quarantines, the closures of businesses and even the need for masks.

The doctors, Dan Erickson and Artin Massihi of Bakersfield, California, discussed their findings based on their clinical experience and treatment of over 5,000 COVID-19 patients. Claiming that government and medical authorities had ramped up fear with dire predictions of over two million deaths in the U.S. alone, the doctors observed that people were not going to the hospital for other necessary treatments and operations not related to COVID-19. People suffering heart attacks and strokes were not calling for ambulances, for example, putting their lives in further jeopardy. Emergency rooms are nearly empty around the country, the doctors pointed out, as people needing emergency treatment feared exposure to COVID-19. That’s not a good thing. The doctors asked whether anyone is tracking deaths related to these unintended consequences of the coronavirus hype.

The press conference was taped by a local news outlet and uploaded to the outlet’s YouTube account. In the space of a few days, the video was removed by YouTube, even though it had received over five million views by then. The video has made its way onto other platforms such as Facebook without incident.

YouTube issued a statement to press outlets explaining its actions, including one to The Daily Wire:

“We quickly remove flagged content that violate our Community Guidelines, including content that explicitly disputes the efficacy of local health authority recommended guidance on social distancing that may lead others to act against that guidance,” YouTube spokesperson Ivy Choi told The Daily Wire in an emailed statement Tuesday. “However, content that provides sufficient educational, documentary, scientific or artistic (EDSA) context is allowed — for example, news coverage of this interview with additional context. From the very beginning of the pandemic, we’ve had clear policies against COVID-19 misinformation and are committed to continue providing timely and helpful information at this critical time.”