YouTube has banned Sky News Australia from uploading all forms of content for seven days after it found that the channel had violated misinformation guidelines.
According to YouTube, the news channel had shown a number of videos in which it denied the existence of Covid-19 or recommended patients to use ivermectin or hydroxychloroquine.
The suspension was issued by YouTube on late Thursday, the day after the Daily Telegraph dropped Alan Jones' regular column amid criticism over his Covid-19 remarks. During his Sky News program, he also branded New South Wales chief health officer Kerry Chant a village idiot .
"Sky News Australia acknowledges YouTube's right to enforce its policies and looks forward to continuing to publish its popular news and analysis content to its subscribers shortly," Sky News said in a statement.
Digital Editor Jack Houghton was quick to defend the channel's content in a column on Sky News' website.
Debates on whether masks were effective and whether lockdowns were warranted when considering their detrimental health outcomes were among the recordings deemed unpleasant for society consumption, Houghton said.
He argued that what YouTube banned was content from 2020 and the platform is seeking a discussion in the "lens of contemporary health advice."
Facebook had also recently restricted users from sharing certain articles, including one that suggested the virus may have leaked from a virology facility in Wuhan.
Sky's YouTube channel has grown from 70,000 subscribers to 1.85 million in two years, surpassing ABC News and any other local Australian media organization.
Jones's "Australians must know the truth - this virus is not a pandemic" video, which was posted at the height of the outbreak last year, is one of the most popular, with 4.6 million views.
Sky News had to apologize on July 19 for a Jones interview with MP Craig Kelly for saying the Delta variant is not dangerous and vaccinations will not help you. The video was removed, and a long apology was posted on the Sky News website.
YouTube has a "three strikes" policy for offenses, with the first resulting in a one-week suspension, a second strike within 90 days leading to a two-week ban and a third resulting in permanent expulsion from the platform.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump was temporarily barred under the policy.
Alphabet, Google's parent company, owns YouTube.
