YouTube has temporarily suspended the Donald Trump-friendly news network One America News Network, citing violations of its policy on COVID-19 misinformation, Axios reports. The upstart network that is even more pro-Trump (and detached from reality) than the cable news giant Fox News, will be unable to post any new content on the platform for a week.
In addition to the temporary ban, the network has been completely demonitized by YouTube, meaning it cannot earn revenue on ads played alongside its videos. While YouTube was not clear which post violated its policies, representatives said that the ban was explicitly for repeated violations of their policies meant to stem the tide of coronavirus hoaxes. The network recently posted a video that made claims of a cure for the deadly virus.
“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,” a rep told CNBC. “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."
OANN is part of a new generation of far-right television networks that seem to be taking the model of former conservative blogosphere titans like Breitbart onto cable. Along with recent ratings generator Newsmax, the outlet hopes to cut into Fox News' viewership by providing news that's even more skewed toward conservative politics and plays into the rise of right-wing conspiracy culture. A glance at OANN's homepage currently shows stories about the election being stolen by Joe Biden and anecdotal evidence of crime being used to portray cities gone mad, alongside straightforward coverage of sports and entertainment news.
For the network to regain its YouTube money-making privileges, it will have to reapply to YouTube's Partner Program. The company reviews readmissions on a case-by-case basis and tends to weigh whether or not creators have fixed the problems that led to their suspension.
