YouTube Temporarily Bans, Demonetizes OAN For Pushing Coronavirus Misinformation

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YouTube has banned One America News Network (OAN) from its platform for a week, also stripping the network of its ability to make money from their existing content, according to an Axios report.

The move came after OAN uploaded a video touting a debunked cure for the coronavirus.

“After careful review, we removed a video from OANN and issued a strike on the channel for violating our Covid-19 misinformation policy, which prohibits content claiming there’s a guaranteed cure,” Ivy Choi, a YouTube spokesperson, said in a statement.

“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, its monetization on YouTube.”

Because the news network has also been barred from the Partner Program, OAN cannot monetize on its videos following the suspension until they re-apply.

This is not OAN’s first time violating YouTube’s coronavirus misinformation policy, but it is their first strike in the platform’s three-strikes policy, meaning they can no longer get warnings if they violate the rules again and instead can only continue to rack up strikes until their ban becomes permanent.

The news comes as President Donald Trump has continuously pushed his supporters to tune into the network, along with Newsmax, and ditch Fox News, which he believes no longer shows him enough support.