London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Oct 17, 2025

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
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
Bessent Accuses China of Dragging Down Global Economy Amid New Trade Curbs
U.S. Revokes Visas of Foreign Nationals Who ‘Celebrated’ Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
DJI Loses Appeal to Remove Pentagon’s ‘Chinese Military Company’ Label
EU Deploys New Biometric Entry/Exit System: What Non-EU Travelers Must Know
Australian Prime Minister’s Private Number Exposed Through AI Contact Scraper
Ex-Microsoft Engineer Confirms Famous Windows XP Key Was Leaked Corporate License, Not a Hack
China’s lesson for the US: it takes more than chips to win the AI race
Australia Faces Demographic Risk as Fertility Falls to Record Low
California County Reinstates Mask Mandate in Health Facilities as Respiratory Illness Risk Rises
Israel and Hamas Agree to First Phase of Trump-Brokered Gaza Truce, Hostages to Be Freed
French Political Turmoil Elevates Marine Le Pen as Rassemblement National Poised for Power
China Unveils Sweeping Rare Earth Export Controls to Shield ‘National Security’
The Davos Set in Decline: Why the World Economic Forum’s Power Must Be Challenged
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
×