Video sharing platform Vimeo has updated its terms of service to ban “fake news, deepfakes, propaganda, or unproven or debunked conspiracy theories” that create “a serious risk of material harm to a person, group, or the general public.”
Vimeo’s previous terms banned “conspiracy-related content where the underlying conspiracy theory makes claims that…a real-world tragedy did not occur” but didn’t reference fake news, deepfakes, propaganda, or unproven or debunked conspiracy theories.
These new terms also ban “false claims that a violent crime or catastrophe has occurred.”
In addition to rolling out these new terms with broader content restrictions, Vimeo has also reportedly started telling popular Patreon creators to suddenly pay thousands of dollars or leave the platform. Some of these creators are already on paid plans and have been using the platform for 13 years.
Vimeo’s crackdown on what it deems to be fake news follows it previously banning several popular creators and videos including the Frontline COVID-19 Critical Care doctors and the documentary “Antifa: Rise of the Black Flags.”
In recent weeks, numerous companies have expanded their “misinformation” and “disinformation” policies to ban large categories of content. DuckDuckGo, Twitch, and Discord recently announced new rules in this area while Yandex started adding misinformation labels to its search engine.
While many companies are using the terms misinformation and disinformation to introduce new censorship rules, several companies, including Brave Search, Presearch, Rumble, Odysee, Gab, and Minds, have spoken out against this trend by saying they won’t censor.
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