Scammers and grifters are hawking face masks and fake coronavirus vaccines on YouTube, and the platform only took down many of the videos after being confronted

• Researchers say they've found multiple videos on YouTube advertising "dubious" face masks and fake vaccines, despite the platform's efforts to take down "misleading and dangerous coronavirus content."
• Since the outbreak started, misinformation about the coronavirus has run rampant across social media even as platforms enact policies banning content that advertises face masks, hand sanitizers, and treatments.
• Much of YouTube's content moderation has been automated in recent weeks as a result of Google, like many other companies, asking employees to work remotely.
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Scammers and grifters are using the coronavirus to profit online, costing consumers more than $5 million by tapping into their fears and promoting easy access to resources like masks, respirators, and hand sanitizer. On YouTube, videos touting overpriced face masks and bogus vaccines are easy to find.

Even despite YouTube and other social platforms' efforts to cut down on harmful content, coronavirus misinformation is still spreading faster than tech companies are able to take it down. A new report claims that by not enforcing stricter moderation practices, YouTube could be "enabling shadowy sellers."

Researchers from the Digital Citizens Alliance and the Coalition for a Safer Web recently discovered "multiple" YouTube videos from accounts trying to sell medical products in high demand due to the worldwide outbreak of COVID-19, the coronavirus disease.

The report found many of these sellers to be "dubious." After reaching out to many of the sellers via email and WhatsApp, the researchers found "ample reason" in their conversations to believe the masks they were advertising were fraudulent. Some of these sellers were also peddling cures or treatments - despite the fact that a vaccine for COVID-19 has yet to be officially approved.

In its report, the DCA highlights 3 channels selling face masks and vaccines; each has been suspended since the report became public. A YouTube spokesperson told Business Insider that the videos in question accrued "zero to a few views" before they were taken down, and that the platform has otherwise removed "thousands of videos related to misleading and dangerous coronavirus content."

The DCA also provided Business Insider with 4 additional YouTube videos advertising the "best mask for coronavirus!" along with rapid test kits and cures. These videos have around 800 views in total, which is small considering YouTube has more than 2 billion unique visitors each month. Shortly after Business Insider provided YouTube with these links, three out of four of the videos were taken down for "violating YouTube's community guidelines." The video that remains online is on a channel with more than 6,000 subscribers.

"It's not only spreading misinformation, but in the end it's contributing to people's anxiety and fears," Digital Citizens Alliance executive director Tom Galvin told Business Insider. "We've come to expect that from scammers and price gougers…but we didn't expect YouTube to help them."

Between January 1 and March 31, the FTC received 8,433 complaints that referenced the coronavirus. The uptick in scammers exploiting coronavirus has forced the Federal Trade Commission to issue stark warnings to consumers about trusting online sellers and buying products over the internet.

Despite these FTC warnings and platforms' efforts, coronavirus-related scams have so far resulted in consumers losing around $5 million, the FTC recently reported. Consumers reported losses of $1.7 million in complaints specifically regarding online shopping or fraudulent businesses.

The DCA told Business Insider that it had sent its report on YouTube to the FTC and the Department of Justice for review. An FTC spokesperson told Business Insider the agency was "aware of the report," but declined to provide further comment.

And the DCA is not alone in asking regulators to take action against YouTube and its parent company, Google: Two Democratic senators called on the FTC in March to intervene after their staff members were "consistently served dozens of ads" through Google's AdChoices that allowed sellers to "to exploit [consumers'] fear for profit."

Coronavirus misinformation has led the World Health Organization to declare a news "infodemic." Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, and Microsoft have all pledged to work together in "combating fraud and misinformation," including conspiracy theories, viral stories and reports, and unverified claims from government officials.

YouTube has said it's removing misinformation from search results, and has touted the addition to its homepage of a shelf dedicated to coronavirus videos from verified news outlets and authoritative sources. Google enacted a policy in early March banning ads on its platforms for products claiming to protect from or cure the coronavirus. The company also announced Thursday it was providing $6.5 million to help fund fact-checkers fighting coronavirus misinformation.

"We have clear policies against content intended to sell certain regulated goods, and we quickly remove videos violating these policies when flagged to us," YouTube said in a statement. "We're also committed to providing helpful information at this critical time, including raising authoritative content, reducing the spread of harmful misinformation and showing information panels, using WHO/CDC data, to help combat misinformation."

Despite these efforts, videos and ads violating these policies have been found on YouTube and Google, raising questions about their ability to properly moderate their platforms amid the influx of misinformation found online. It also draws concerns about YouTube's recent change to its video review process, which the platform said would "temporarily" be more automated to account for many of its human content moderators being told to work from home. YouTube's past efforts to automate content moderation - as in the aftermath of terror attacks on mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand - have proven that its machine-learning and algorithms are not perfect.

YouTube told Business Insider that "these 'researchers' didn't flag these videos" to the platform before publishing its report Wednesday. However, Galvin told Business Insider that YouTube did not respond to the findings when the DCA sent them to the company earlier this week.

The DCA released a similar report last week on Facebook in which it found that ads for face masks were still appearing on the platform despite its ban on such content.

"If Google is shifting blame for these videos to the people who find them, they are treating this like PR problem, not an internet safety problem," Galvin said.

And get the latest coronavirus analysis and research from Business Insider Intelligence on how COVID-19 is impacting businesses.