Sky News has been barred from uploading videos to YouTube for seven days for promoting content which denies the existence of Covid-19 and spruiking controversial treatments that aren't backed by science.
The ban was imposed on Thursday after the broadcaster posted 'numerous' videos, which have since been removed, that violated the tech giant's medical misinformation policies.
Youtube would not say what the offending videos were, but content posted before Thursday that did not violate terms are still available for the channel's 1.85 million subscribers to view.
Sky News has been banned from uploading videos to YouTube for seven days (stock image)
If the broadcaster receives three warnings within 90 days, the channel will be permanently removed from YouTube.
A spokesperson for the video streaming platform said policies are in place to avoid the spread of misinformation regarding Covid-19.
'Specifically, we don't allow content that denies the existence of Covid-19 or that encourages people to use hydroxychloroquine or ivermectin to treat or prevent the virus,' they told Guardian Australia.
'We do allow for videos that have sufficient countervailing context, which the violative videos did not provide.'
Hydroxychloroquine is used to treat rheumatoid arthritis but was hailed as a 'miracle drug' against coronavirus by some at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020.
Further studies have revealed the medication does not prevent or cure Covid-19.
According to the Australian National Covid-19 Clinical Evidence Taskforce: 'The drug does not reduce mortality, or shorten the amount of time a sick person spends in hospital. It also exposes them to side effects including cardiac toxicity.'
The Sky News Australia YouTube channel has published more than 20,000 videos over the past year (stock image)
Ivermectin is commonly used to treat parasites such as head lice and scabies and was also
