Prominent health influencer “Dr. Eric Berg” has expressed his concerns over YouTube’s latest move to change its algorithms, affecting health-related content that does not align with the general medical consensus put forth by the World Health Organization (WHO).
“YouTube has just now banned anything related to health that doesn’t align with the general medical consensus,” Mr. Berg said in a video posted on YouTube on Sept. 13.
Mr. Berg, who is known for sharing alternative health perspectives with his 11 million subscribers, states in a disclaimer on his website that people call him “Dr. Berg” because he graduated with a Doctor of Chiropractic degree in 1988 at Palmer College of Chiropractic in Davenport, Iowa, and he maintains his chiropractor license in California. However, he no longer practices so that he can focus on creating educational videos full-time.
Referring to YouTube’s policy shift, Mr. Berg said: “I think it’s going to hurt a lot of people because freedom of health information is really freedom of speech. It’s a very slippery slope.”
The video-sharing giant intends to streamline its “existing medical misinformation guidelines” into three distinct categories—“Prevention, Treatment, and Denial”—focusing on health conditions, treatments, and substances that contradict the guidance of local health authorities or the WHO.
“To determine if a condition, treatment, or substance is in scope of our medical misinformation policies, we’ll evaluate whether it’s associated with a high public health risk, publicly available guidance from health authorities around the world, and whether it’s generally prone to misinformation,” the company said in the blog post.
This push is part of YouTube’s efforts to become “a destination for high-quality health content.” Under its partnership, the WHO has touted the removal of over 850,000 videos about COVID-19 between February 2020 and January 2021.
“We’re taking what we’ve learned so far about the most effective ways to tackle medical misinformation to simplify our approach for creators, viewers, and partners,” YouTube’s blog post reads.
‘My Information Is Not Dangerous’
In his video on Wednesday, Mr. Berg outlined YouTube’s policy shift, saying that the platform would not necessarily remove videos presenting alternative health information but would instead prioritize content that aligns with the WHO’s viewpoint.“This new partnership with YouTube is supposed to protect you against misinformation and promote high-quality health information,” Mr. Berg said. “And their definition of misinformation is anything that opposes their viewpoint.”
He argues that YouTube’s latest change will hinder the availability of diverse viewpoints and potentially suppress valuable information for those seeking alternative health solutions.
Mr. Berg, whose website claims thousands of success stories, defends his content as non-toxic and helpful, stating that the change will negatively impact individuals searching for alternative health solutions. He argues that diverse perspectives and opinions are essential in the health care field, fostering competition and encouraging better results.
One of Mr. Berg’s primary concerns centers on the alleged lack of transparency regarding YouTube’s partnerships and alliances, particularly with pharmaceutical companies and medical institutions. He questions whether these relationships may influence the platform’s definition of misinformation, potentially stifling dissenting viewpoints.
“My information is not dangerous, it’s not misinformation,” he asserts. “It’s actually quite helpful and this new change is going to hurt a lot of people because they’re not going to be able to find alternative viewpoints, alternative opinions.”
Mr. Berg contends that restricting access to alternative health information may harm individuals seeking non-toxic or natural remedies, making it difficult for them to find viable solutions for various health issues.
“We’re going to be pretty much stuck with just one way of treating the body,” he said. “And they call this science. They call this ‘high-quality health information.’”
Combating Keto ‘Misinformation’
Moreover, Mr. Berg points out that YouTube’s search algorithm changes have affected the discoverability of his content.Despite having nearly a thousand videos on the ketogenic diet, he claims that his content has been overshadowed by mainstream medical sources, such as the Mayo Clinic.
“What really frustrates me is having them take over the keywords for the ketogenic diet,” Mr. Berg said. “Now why is that a bad thing? Because they don’t have any experience in that area. Many times when doctors go to school, they don’t get a lot of training in nutrition or anything alternative. And so now they get to be the controllers of that information as well.”
Mr. Berg played excerpts from a Mayo Clinic video that he argues misrepresents the ketogenic diet. He critiqued the video for having “a huge bias” and failing to distinguish between what he called “therapeutic ketosis” and ketoacidosis, which is a serious complication of diabetes that can be life-threatening.
The Mayo Clinic video, according to Mr. Berg, perpetuates misconceptions about ketosis, labeling it as dangerous and only relevant in emergency situations. Mr. Berg, on the other hand, emphasizes the health benefits of what he referred to as “mild ketosis,” including its potential to reduce cortisol and balance the autonomic nervous system.
“They think ketosis only occurs in an emergency situation when you are starving or something like that,” he said. “That is so false. Talk about misinformation on steroids. That is absolutely not true.”
“Do you realize that when your body goes into this mild ketosis your flight or fighting mechanism goes down?” he continued. “It reduces cortisol. You help balance the autonomic nervous system. It’s anything but [for an] emergency. It’s super healthy.”
Additionally, Mr. Berg challenges the Mayo Clinic’s characterization of ketone bodies as toxic, explaining that they serve as a superior fuel source to glucose and have antioxidant properties. He argues that glucose, not ketones, poses a greater risk, particularly in the context of diabetes.
“Keto is very popular. People are searching for it,” Mr. Berg said, in response to the video. “The bottom line is the more people that get on this diet, the less medication they’re going to need because it handles so many issues.”
The Mayo Clinic video’s focus on weight loss as the primary indicator of success, according to Mr. Berg, overlooks the numerous other health benefits associated with the ketogenic diet, such as improved blood sugar levels, liver health, cholesterol profiles, energy levels, cognitive function, reduced inflammation, and enhanced mood.
Mr. Berg concluded his video by encouraging viewers to participate in a survey to share their opinions on YouTube’s algorithm changes and their impact on the accessibility of health information.
The Epoch Times contacted Google, YouTube’s parent company, and the Mayo Clinic for comment.
