London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Aug 05, 2026

Covid-19: YouTube launches vaccination ad campaign

Covid-19: YouTube launches vaccination ad campaign

YouTube has launched a multi-million-pound advertising campaign to encourage young people in the UK to get vaccinated against Covid-19.

It said the partnership with the NHS would involve ads on buses, billboards, bus stops and YouTube, with the video-sharing site paying for them.

YouTube has been criticised for being slow to stop the spread of coronavirus disinformation.

But it said it had removed 900,000 Covid-19 videos that broke its rules.

The campaign will feature the slogan Let's Not Go Back and will show group activities and events - such as concerts - that will be possible again after the pandemic.

YouTube's UK managing director, Ben McOwen Wilson, said he wanted to avoid "vaccine ambivalence" among young people as life starts to return to normal over the summer.

He said the video-sharing platform had "huge reach" among under-35s and could communicate with young people in a way that was light-hearted and not preaching.

YouTube said the campaign would be 'light-hearted'

In October, YouTube changed its policy to ban misleading claims about the coronavirus vaccine.

However, it faced continued criticism about the spread of disinformation.

In March, the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) released a report, stating: "Anti-vaccine activists on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Twitter reach more than 59 million followers, making these the largest and most important social-media platforms for anti-vaxxers."

Mr McOwen Wilson said the coronavirus pandemic had "moved rapidly" and that YouTube had regularly reviewed its policies, working with information partners such as the NHS and World Health Organization.

He said the platform had removed 900,000 videos that broke its rules on coronavirus misinformation and said banners linking to authoritative sources of information had been clicked 500 billion times.

Dr Nikki Kanani, medical director for primary care at NHS England, said: "It is great to have support from platforms such as YouTube, to reassure people that the vaccine is safe, simple and effective.

"I urge everyone to book in for a vaccine when you are eligible."


YouTube was typically ahead of the curve when it came to introducing policies to tackle harmful anti-vaccine content.

And this marks another new - and critics would argue much-needed - initiative.

Young people are more active users of social-media sites and as a consequence are more likely to be exposed to conspiracies and falsehoods online.

I have investigated the impact of anti-vaccine content online for months, and there is no doubt that the very conspiracies that may have heightened vaccine hesitancy among young people have spread on sites such as YouTube.

Several popular influential users promoting harmful falsehoods about vaccines have cultivated their followings on YouTube over the past year - and the site has come under fire for only recently acting on those accounts.

The conspiracies they have spread, including about fertility, have often been aimed directly at younger women in a bid to put them off the jab.

While a campaign like this might reiterate the science of vaccines and value of collective immunisation, it may struggle to undo the damage done by emotive anti-vaccine propaganda to which younger social-media users have been hyper-exposed.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Spain and Morocco Trade Blame After 72,000 Migrants Enter Ceuta
Met Police Investigated Journalist Who Questioned Cambridge Professor
Badenoch Defends Tory Candidate Jailed for Antisemitic Abuse of Luciana Berger
NHS Spends £240m a Year Storing Paper Records Despite Digital Push
Apple Seeks Court Order to Stop OpenAI Using Alleged Trade Secrets
Breaking With the Past: One of the World’s Smallest Countries Changes Its Name
AI Is Remaking the US Economy, From GDP Growth to iPhone Prices
Comcast: Tied to a Chair and Hit in the Face With Cake: The Regular Humiliation Ritual at the US Corporate Giant
Aston Martin Faces Legal Threat Over £550m Rescue Deal
Conservative Party and Reform UK Face Growing Scrutiny Over Political Transparency
GMB and Public Sector Unions Prepare for Wider Debate Over Government Priorities
UK Government Faces Pressure to Address National Water Infrastructure Failures
NHS Radiographers Report Rising Racist Abuse From Patients
Breast Cancer Experts Call for Overhaul of NHS Diagnostic Approach
UK Government Reviews Prison Policy After Debate Over Capacity and Public Safety
Nigel Farage Faces Questions Over Leadership Discussions and Five Million Pound Donation
Conservative Party Faces Candidate Controversy Over Former Antisemitic Activist
UK Energy Industry Pushes for Greater Role for Domestic Oil and Gas Production
Gatwick Expansion Debate Continues as Airport Prepares for Second Runway Construction
Reform UK Wants the Royal Navy to Return Channel Boats to France
Government Faces Pressure Over Charity Funding Linked to Illegal Israeli Settlements
UK Fire Chiefs Demand Ban on Disposable Barbecues During Severe Drought
Medical Review Warns Current Breast Cancer Guidelines Miss Many Young Women
NHS Mental Health Trust Announces Twenty-Five Million Pound Service Cuts
MI6 Rated Europe’s Most Capable Foreign Intelligence Service in International Review
UK Watchdog Finds Serious Failures in Electronic Offender Monitoring System
BP Chief Warns UK Must Protect Domestic Oil and Gas Capacity
Water Supply Crisis Threatens England’s Housing Expansion Plans
UK Government Rewrites Procurement Rules to Prioritise Jobs Over Environmental Targets
English Channel Rescue Operation Saves One Hundred Seventy-Three Migrants After Boat Capsizes
Gatwick Airport Wins Legal Approval for Second Runway Expansion
UK Government Tightens Early Prison Release Scheme After Public Backlash Over Offender Freedoms
US and Japan Step In to Support the Yen in Rare Joint Intervention
The AI Pricing Problem: Companies Cannot Predict Their Own Bills
Europe’s Heat and Drought Are Now Disrupting Power, Shipping and Tourism
Apple’s OpenAI Lawsuit Becomes a Public Fight Over AI Hardware
UK Man Jailed After Keeping His Mother’s Body in a Freezer and Claiming £78,000
A SpaceX Rocket Is About to Crash Into the Moon — and Scientists Hope to Watch
World War II munitions discovered after wildfires in southern France
BP profits reach four-year high amid Middle East conflict
Europe’s Drying Rivers Trigger Power Cuts, Factory Shutdowns and Wildfire Emergencies
UK Driver Sentenced to Four Years for Staged Electric Vehicle Brake Failure Fraud
Conservative Party and Reform UK Face Scrutiny During Clacton By-Election Campaign
Ministry of Justice Reviews Early Release Rules After Public Anger Over Police Killer Cases
NHS Radiographers Report Rising Racist Abuse From Patients Across UK Hospitals
UK Banking Regulators Face Pressure After Customer Loses Fourteen Thousand Pounds in AI Voice Scam
Research Challenges Treasury Control Over UK Public Spending and Calls for Greater Local Decision-Making
Home Office Begins Four-Week Weapons Surrender Campaign Across Major English Cities
Southern England Records Driest July in Nearly Two Centuries as Drought Concerns Grow
Apple Challenges UK Government Request for Access to Encrypted User Data in Legal Fight
×