Grieving father blames anti-vax videos on YouTube for the death of his young pregnant daughter
‘Anti-vax propaganda cost my daughter her life and YouTube must do more to remove it’: Grieving father blames videos for the death of his young pregnant daughter from Covid after she was told jab ‘would kill’ her unborn child
David Exley said there was need to do more to tackle dangerous misinformationSaid his daughter Sadie, 24, refused jab after being told it would ‘kill’ unborn childClaimed father of his daughter’s son had watched anti-vax videos on YouTube
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A grieving father has blamed anti-vax propaganda videos on YouTube for the death of his pregnant daughter from Covid.
David Exley said there was an urgent need to do more to tackle dangerous misinformation after his daughter Sadie, 24, refused the jab after wrongly being told it ‘would kill’ her unborn child.
Mr Exley, an electrician from West Yorkshire, told The Mail on Sunday: ‘I’m firmly of the belief that people should do what they believe in, whether that is to be vaccinated or unvaccinated.
‘But people must make that choice based on facts. They should listen to experts, not base their decisions on posts on Facebook or videos on YouTube.’
The 57-year-old claimed the father of Sadie’s unborn son had watched anti-vax videos on YouTube and told her that ‘if she had the vaccination she would kill his baby’.
‘Funny and loving’: Sadie Exley with her daughter Harper
‘Sadie had wanted the vaccine, we had discussed it. We were very, very close and open with each other,’ he said. ‘She said that as soon as she was eligible she would have the jab. But she fell pregnant and kept putting it off.
‘Some people she knew didn’t believe in the vaccine, which is their right, but they shouldn’t have forced their beliefs on somebody else. They told Sadie that if she had the vaccination she would kill the baby. It’s only for that reason that she didn’t get it.’
Ms Exley, who was also mother to two-year-old Harper, started suffering from migraines and chest pain in October.
Pictured: A still from an anti-vax YouTube video which Ms Exley’s father believes is why she did not get vaccinated
She was diagnosed with a blood clot in her lung before catching Covid in late November. Her condition deteriorated and on December 2 she was rushed to hospital having become paralysed on one side.
‘When Sadie left in the ambulance I heard her tell the paramedic that she wanted to get the jab,’ Mr Exley said.
She was transferred into intensive care at Leeds General Infirmary, where she sent a poignant final text message to her father which read: ‘I will see you later love.’
The ‘funny and loving’ mother died on December 3 after a brain haemorrhage caused by blood clots due to the virus.
Miraculously, doctors were able to save her son, who was delivered by caesarean section at 29 weeks weighing just 2lbs 1oz. Mr Exley said the boy – named Elliot – remains at the neonatal unit at St James’ Hospital in Leeds but is steadily putting on weight.
Ms Exley’s funeral will take place on Friday and a fundraiser has been set up to help the family, which has so far raised more than £3,500.
The Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) published a report last year showing that 12 anti-vaccine ‘influencers’ were responsible for almost two-thirds of the dangerous content on social media – yet the MoS last week found misinformation from some of the same people freely available on YouTube.
In September, YouTube said it would remove any content that spreads misinformation about approved vaccines, expanding a previous ban on false claims about Covid jabs, but scores are still available, including some posted before they announced the crackdown.
Miraculously, doctors were able to save her son, who was delivered by caesarean section at 29 weeks weighing just 2lbs 1oz. Mr Exley said the boy – named Elliot – remains at the neonatal unit at St James’ Hospital in Leeds but is steadily putting on weight. Pictured: Ms Exley
One clip by prolific anti-vaxxer Robert Kennedy Junior was posted in November with a number of dangerous claims, including that vaccines are toxic.
The environmental lawyer and nephew of former US president John F. Kennedy has been banned from Instagram ‘for repeatedly sharing debunked claims about the coronavirus or vaccines’, but the clip is still on YouTube where it has been viewed more than 30,000 times.
Another video, posted six weeks after YouTube’s pledge, featured former doctor and conspiracy theorist Christiane Northrup. In it she falsely claimed vaccines contain dangerous chemicals being used by the Government as part of a psychological experiment.
The video was up for almost two months but removed after the MoS contacted YouTube.
Ms Exley’s funeral will take place on Friday and a fundraiser has been set up to help the family, which has so far raised more than £3,500. Pictured: Ms Exley aged two
Imran Ahmed, chief executive of CCDH, said: ‘Tech giants like YouTube have consistently failed to act on dangerous misinformation about Covid and vaccines.
‘Promises to do better will ring hollow as long as they fail to act on key super-spreaders in the lucrative anti-vaxx industry and the dangerous disinformation they produce. The public cost of Big Tech’s failure is paid in lives.’
YouTube last night said it had removed more than a million videos since February 2020. A spokeswoman added: ‘We are saddened to learn of Sadie’s story and our hearts go out to her friends and family.
‘The safety of our users is our top priority and we remove content that violates our Covid misinformation guidelines as quickly as possible. We have taken down a number of the flagged videos for violating our policies and the review is still ongoing.’
