An animal rights group said the site had ignored efforts to get clear violations taken down. YouTube said it had removed hundreds of thousands.

Nina Jackel, founder of Lady Freethinker, said it had found hundreds more “staged rescue” videos that endangered animals in the months since YouTube pledged to take action.

Credit…Tracy Nguyen for The New York Times

By Daisuke Wakabayashi

Oct. 19, 2021

The videos are disturbing. A giant python wraps its thick body around the neck of a puppy, which thrashes and squeals in panic. A baby monkey, trembling and screeching in horror, is poked, prodded and pinched inside a basket. Another monkey is forced to fend off a giant snake slithering toward it while tied to the ground.

As of Monday, all of those videos of animal abuse — and dozens more — were available on YouTube. Some of the videos have been on the site for years, viewed hundreds of thousands of times. Some also carried advertisements for pet food or vacation rental homes. That meant YouTube’s parent company, Google, was sharing advertising revenue with the people who posted the videos.

The videos are now the subject of a lawsuit filed on Monday in California Superior Court in Santa Clara. Lady Freethinker, an animal rights nonprofit, sued YouTube, accusing it of breach of contract. The suit claims that the platform failed to live up to its agreement with users by allowing animal abuse videos to be uploaded and failing to take action when alerted about the content.

Lady Freethinker, which has exposed dogfighting rings in Chile and dog meat auctions in South Korea, said YouTube had ignored the group’s repeated flagging of animal abuse videos. YouTube’s community guidelines, the rules for what is allowed on the site, say animal abuse content is not permitted.

The ban includes videos in which humans inflict physical harm to an animal to cause suffering. The guidelines say YouTube also does not allow videos in which humans prompt animals to fight or stage a rescue that places the animal in a dangerous situation.

“YouTube is aware of these videos and its role in distributing them, as well as its continuing support of their creation, production and circulation,” the animal rights group’s complaint said. “It is unfortunate that YouTube has chosen to put profits over principles of ethical and humane treatment of innocent animals.”

The lawsuit reflects a repeated criticism of YouTube: Despite detailed and extensive policies for what is permissible, it has struggled to enforce them and prevent dangerous and disturbing videos from reaching its audience of more than one billion users. Enforcement remains a challenge even after YouTube has added thousands of human reviewers and made major investments in artificial intelligence to identify problematic videos before they are uploaded.

The Rights of Animals

• Lab Animals: Standard ethical guidelines encourage minimizing the use of, and harm to, animals used in research. Some experts propose an additional courtesy: repayment.
• Alternatives to Animal Testing: Thanks in part to new laws and new technologies, momentum is building for approaches to drug development that do not involve the use of lab animals.
• Volunteers Only: A farm sanctuary in New York is investigating the inner lives of cows, pigs and chickens, but only if the animals choose to participate in the studies.
• A Case for Equal Rights: In her latest book, the philosopher Martha C. Nussbaum argues for increased legal standing for animals. David Marchese asked her about it.

Zeve Sanderson, executive director of New York University’s Center for Social Media and Politics, said that a lot of attention was paid to policies created by platforms like YouTube but that a lack of transparency made it hard to study how they were enforced.

“Guidelines matter, but enforcement probably matters more,” he said.

Because 500 hours of videos are uploaded to YouTube per minute, on average, finding and removing content that crosses a line is difficult. Also, what breaks the rules isn’t always clear, and savvy creators know how to brush up against the guidelines without explicitly violating them.

But Nina Jackel, founder of Lady Freethinker, said in an interview that there was no gray area with many of the animal abuse videos, and that a company of YouTube’s size and resources should be able to identify and remove these clear violations.

Ivy Choi, a YouTube spokeswoman, said the company had expanded its policy on animal abuse videos this year. Since then, she said, it has removed hundreds of thousands of videos and terminated thousands of channels for violations. She cautioned that it took time to increase enforcement.

“We agree that content depicting violence or abuse toward animals has no place on YouTube,” Ms. Choi said in a statement. Of 10 animal videos that The New York Times shared with YouTube, the company removed nine for violating its violent or graphic content policy. The one that was not removed shows a live rabbit being fed to a python. YouTube declined to explain why this video did not violate its guidelines.

Through its lawyers, Lady Freethinker also sent a letter to the Justice Department on Monday, accusing YouTube of aiding and abetting the violation of “animal crushing” law. Created in 1999 and amended in 2010 and 2019, the federal law prohibits making or distributing videos in which animals are “purposely crushed, burned, drowned, suffocated, impaled or otherwise subjected to serious bodily injury.”

The law allows exceptions for videos in which animals may be harmed in slaughter for food, legal hunting, the protection of people or property, medical research and euthanasia.

In the complaint and letter, the animal rights group said YouTube was profiting from animal abuse because some of the videos ran advertisements. For example, a video of a puppy desperately trying to escape the grasp of a python was preceded by a commercial for Vrbo, the vacation rental unit of Expedia Group.

Many of the comments on the video are also troubling. Under one video in which a baby monkey is manhandled while it screams in terror, one commentator called it a “thrill.” Under the same video, another person wrote that the creator should break the monkey’s arms to instill “some severe discipline.”

Ms. Jackel said it had been urging YouTube for 18 months to take meaningful action on the animal abuse videos. She said it provided the company last year with examples of violations on 146 channels with more than 2,000 videos collectively viewed 1.2 billion times. She said that YouTube hadn’t responded and that roughly 70 percent of those videos remained up last month.

In March, YouTube expanded its guidelines to ban staged animal rescues that put animals in dangerous situations and said it would start enforcement “within weeks.” Ms. Jackel said her organization had found hundreds more staged rescue videos in the months since then.

These videos often follow a pattern. They begin with a giant snake slithering slowly toward a helpless animal, such as a puppy, as melodramatic music plays. At some point, the snake attacks and begins to wrap its body around the flailing animal until a person intervenes.

In April, Ms. Jackel said, Lady Freethinker volunteered to be part of YouTube’s Trusted Flagger program, which provides individuals, government agencies and nongovernmental organizations with tools to notify the company of content that violates its guidelines. She said YouTube had told the organization that it was not bringing on trusted flaggers with expertise in animal abuse videos.

In July, Lady Freethinker, along with Action for Primates, a British nonprofit, wrote a letter to Susan Wojcicki, YouTube’s chief executive, expressing concern about the company’s “laissez faire” attitude. It included a dozen examples of users and videos that had been flagged to YouTube for animal abuse violations but that had remained on the site.

The videos and user accounts were removed after the letter was sent.

“We’ve tried to have a meaningful conversation with them multiple times, and been shut down,” Ms. Jackel said. “We’re knocking on the door, and nobody is answering. So this lawsuit is kind of a last straw.”

Policing YouTube

YouTube bans all anti-vaccine misinformation.

Sept. 29, 2021

YouTube to Remove Thousands of Videos Pushing Extreme Views

June 5, 2019

Alert! Bird flu or the avian influenza virus is mutating. Read on to know everything.

Written by Satata Karmakar |Updated : April 16, 2023 2:09 PM IST

https://www.thehealthsite.com/diseases-conditions/just-like-covid-bird-flu-virus-is-also-mutating-experts-warn-of-high-potential-for-humans-outbreak-970359/

Amid rising fears about a possible fifth wave of COVID-19 in India, experts have warned about the massive spread of Bird Flu virus in the country. In the latest report issued by the health officials of India, the government has sounded alert in Bihar after several cases of H5N1 virus were confirmed in the state. What is more concerning at the moment are the new mutations which experts have noticed in the virus. Let’s understand how threatful are these new mutations in the virus, and where India stands when it comes to facing an outbreak of the H3N1 virus or the bird flu virus.

New Mutation In Bird Flu Virus Shows High Potential For Humans Outbreak

Bird flu is an air-borne infection caused by strains of the influenza virus that primarily infect birds. The mode of transmission of this virus is via infected body fluids of the birds. The virus mainly affects the avian community of the environment. What about the humans? Although experts had shown cases of human transmission of the H3N1 0r H2N3 virus and the possibility of it entering and evading the immune system, the chances of it causing severe outcomes for humans were too low. But this is not the case anymore. A recent study has revealed something unusual and new. According to the scientists, they have identified new mutations in the avian influenza virus H5N1, which recently infected a man in Chile, and may pose a risk of spreading in humans.

According to the European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC), the risk of spread from human to human remains low but the new changes seen are ‘concerning’. It also suggests that the potential risk of human spillover is increasing.

Also Read

• H3N8 Bird Flu: China Reports First Case Of Human Death
• H5N1 Bird Flu Spreading Like Fire: Will Bird Flu Be The Next Human Pandemic?
• WHO Warns Tourists Visiting Bird-Flu Hit Countries To Avoid Farms, Wet Markets

More News

Last month in a statement, Chile’s Health Ministry confirmed that a 53-year-old man has tested positive for the H5N1 virus. As per the medical reports, the man was reported to be in serious but stable condition with a severe pneumonia-like condition.

China Reports First Bird Flu Death

This comes a few days after Chin confirmed the first human death by the Bird Flu virus. The World Health Organisation (WHO) confirmed the death of a 56-year-old Chinese woman due to the H3N8 bird flu strain that is rare in humans. The H3N8 subtype of avian influenza is a rare strain of the virus and it is unusual to spread among the human community.

Talking about this rare case of bird flu death in China, the WHO confirmed that the virus responsible for the infection was influenza A(H3), which is very common in birds and extremely rare for humans. As per the global health body, there were no additional cases reported among people who had been in close contact with the infected individual.

by Taboola

Sponsored Links

You May Like

Dermatologist: If You Have Toenail Fungus Try This Tonight (It’s Genius!)Healthy Guru

Winthrop Top Podiatrist: If You Have Toenail Fungus Try This Tonight (It’s Genius!)WellnessGuide101.comWatch Now

You may like to read

• COVID-19 Update: With 10,753 New Cases, India s Active Caseload Goes Up To 10,753
• 10 Facts About Berberine That You Should Know
• Summer Skincare Routine: 6 Tips To Take Care Of
• Fractures: How To Manage Pain Following A Bone Fracture
• Banana Chips To Basanti Pulao: 4 Healthy Recipes From Regional India
• Florida Comes Up With 6-Week Abortion Ban, Texas Court Trying To Limit Pill Use: Know Where India Stands
• Berberine Benefits For Diabetes
• How Can Social Connections Impact Overall Well-Being?
• Happy Baisakhi 2023: Taste Of Tradition With Healthy Millet-Based Recipes
• Muscular Dystrophy: All About This Genetic Health Disease
• Intermittent Fasting Can Decrease Incidence And Severity Of Autoimmune Conditions
• 5 Key Lessons That Every Company Must Consider To Ensure The Well-Being of Its Employees
• Tests To Reduce The Risk Of Having A Child With Down Syndrome

Avian Influenza: Can This Bird Virus Turn Into a Human Virus

The virus responsible for severe human infections has been identified as H7N9 and H5N1. The symptoms that are commonly reported by the patients are like the common flu, such as fever, body aches, sore – throat, and cough. Speaking to the media, Richard J. Webby, a bird flu expert at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital stated that to become threatful to the human community the H5 virus will have to undergo three major categories of changes. “The sequences from the person in Chile have one of those classes of changes. But we also know that of those three sets of changes, this is the easiest one for the virus to make,” Jude was quoted as saying.

How to detect the H3N1 virus infection in humans? Bird flu infection is usually diagnosed by collecting a swab from the upper respiratory tract of the sick person. “The disease can carry high mortality in humans. Some antiviral drugs, if taken within two days of symptoms, may help. Oseltamivir or Tamiflu is one of the drugs effective against bird flu,” said Dr Nitin Verma Director Pediatrics Rosewalk Healthcare.

Bird Flu Outbreak: How Big Is The Threat For India?

As the speculations of the H5 virus turning into a human virus from a bird virus is on the rise in India, we spoke to Dr Anamika Dubey, Senior Consultant, General Paediatrician, Madhukar Rainbow Children’s Hospital, Malviya Nagar.

Dr Dubey said, “In the United States, there are repeated outbreaks of H5 N1 in wild birds and poultry since 2022. In India H5N1 in poultry farms was first reported in 2006 in Maharashtra. Since then outbreaks of Avian influenza A in poultry farms is reported every year. One human case of H5n1 was notified on 21 July 2021 from Haryana state.”

Talking about the safety measures that one can take during a bird flu outbreak, Dr Dubey said, “As advised by WHO, at all times the public should avoid contact with high-risk environments such as live animal markets/farms and live poultry, or surfaces that might be contaminated by poultry or bird faeces. Hand hygiene with frequent hand washing with soap and water is recommended. Good food safety practices should be followed. There is no evidence to suggest that Influenza a or other avian influenza viruses can be transmitted to humans through properly cooked poultry. There is no epidemiological evidence to suggest that people have been infected with avian influenza virus by consumption of eggs or egg products. However, eggs from areas with outbreaks in poultry should not be consumed raw or partially cooked.”

Post navigation

<

>

PUBLIC HEALTH AGENCIES IN CANADA, THE U.S. AND EUROPE AGREE THE RISK TO HUMAN HEALTH REMAINS LOW

Canadian PressPublished: Apr 13th, 2023 2:45pm

Facebook Twitter

By Jordan Omstead

A rise in mammals infected with bird flu has put Canadian wildlife and public health experts on alert, as recent research by federal scientists warns of a “potentially devastating pandemic” if the virus tearing through poultry flocks eventually mutates to spread efficiently between humans. 

Avian influenza cases are very rare in humans – there have been fewer than a dozen confirmed H5N1 cases globally since 2020 – and no instances of it passing from human to human. But experts say public health agencies are right to keep a close eye on how the highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 evolves.

“There are enough red flags that we’re beholden to prepare,” said Dr. Samira Mubareka, an infectious disease specialist and clinician scientist at Sunnybrook Research Institute and the University of Toronto.

H5N1 was first identified in 1996, but a new type of the virus emerged in 2020. It was first detected in North America in late 2021 and has since decimated flocks of wild and domesticated birds, resulting in millions of poultry deaths across Canada either from infection or culls to prevent its spread. 

While cases in mammals are to be expected during a bird flu outbreak, Mubareka said part of what’s captured the attention of scientists is the range of species infected.

“If the virus spills over into new species, it always gains an opportunity to mutate and adapt even further,” she said. “So this is really an unprecedented level of viral activity for H5N1.”