Ham Ik-byeong: "Clear Media Suppression... Video 'Vaccines Can't Stop Transmission' Forced to Be Deleted"

"Unknown Perpetrators of Suppression... Is It Due to Algorithms, Intentional Distortion, or External Pressure?"
Official: "Error Occurred During Automatic Translation Process"

Photo by YouTube, screenshot from the video 'Medical Channel Biondwi'

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] Dermatologist Ham Ik-byeong claimed "media oppression" after a video related to the COVID-19 vaccine he uploaded on YouTube was forcibly removed. The video was restored around 5 p.m. on the 7th.

On the 6th, the person in charge of the YouTube channel 'Medical Channel Biondu' announced on the channel community, "'COVID Vaccine Part 1: No Longer Preventing Transmission' video was deleted due to violation of YouTube community guidelines."

The person in charge added, "The information was classified as 'misleading medical information,' leading to forced removal by YouTube. We have contacted YouTube staff to request the video be reinstated."

Ham commented on the video, saying, "Whenever I heard about censorship and deletion on YouTube, I thought, 'What nonsense is this?' Even if deletion occurred, I assumed it was due to excessive sensationalism or clearly false content. But I was surprised that my broadcast was deleted."

He continued, "The content I presented goes beyond the level of a dermatologist," and "It summarizes what I learned from the lecture by cardiologist Han Kyung-il, director of Seoul Internal Medicine, on 'Biondu.'"

He also said, "The data was reorganized for easier understanding after receiving useful information extracted by Professor Lee Eun-hye of Soonchunhyang University Hospital from numerous publicly available data from the Disease Control Agency," adding, "By integrating these two sources, we felt the government's response to the current COVID situation was insufficient, so we prepared the broadcast through cooperation."

Ham expressed regret over the forced deletion for unclear reasons, stating, "This forced deletion incident is a clear case of media oppression."

He added, "We do not know who is behind the oppression. Whether it is due to the automatic algorithm recognized by AI as explained by the YouTube staff, the result of intentional distortion of information by many, or external pressure from a higher level," and said, "In any case, the current deletion action directly violates Google's corporate motto."

Meanwhile, the video was restored around 5 p.m. on the 7th. The person in charge said, "The video has been restored. YouTube officials explained that the issue occurred due to an error in the automatic translation process from Korean to English regarding COVID," and added, "'Biondu' respects experts' reasonable opinions. The video reflects Dr. Ham Ik-byeong's personal views and does not represent the official stance of Biondu."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.