The death of Covid’s pregnant daughter by her father, a bereaved dad, was attributed to anti-vax propaganda videos found on YouTube.
David Exley said that it was urgent to address dangerous misinformation following the refusal of his 24-year-old daughter Sadie to receive the jab. She had been wrongly informed by Exley that it would kill her unborn child.
An electrician hailing from West Yorkshire, Mr Exley told The Mail that he believes that everyone should believe what they believe, regardless of whether it is to get vaccinated.
“But, people have to make their decision based on facts. The experts should not be ignored.
The 57 year-old said that the father of Sadie’s unborn baby had seen anti-vax videos and had told Sadie, if she received the vaccine, she would have killed his child.
Sadie Exley, Harper’s mother is ‘funny’ and ‘loving’
“Sadie wanted to get the vaccine. We had talked about it. He stated that we were close friends and very open to one another. “She stated that she would get the jab as soon as she became eligible. She fell pregnant, and she kept pushing it off.
“Some people she knew didn’t believe in vaccination, but that is their right. They shouldn’t have forced those beliefs onto anyone. Sadie was warned by the parents that if Sadie got the vaccine, she would be able to kill her baby. She didn’t receive it because of that.
Harper’s mother, Ms. Exley, also suffered from chest pains and migraines since October.
Pictured is a still taken from an anti-vax YouTube clip that Ms Exley claims her father thinks is the reason why she was not vaccinated
After being diagnosed with a blood-clot in her lungs, she was then able to catch Covid in November. As her condition worsened, she was hospitalized on December 2, paralysed in one side.
Mr Exley stated, “When Sadie was in an ambulance she told the paramedic that her wish to have the jab.”
In intensive care at Leeds General Infirmary she was taken. There, she wrote a final message to her dad: “I will see your father later love.”
Following a stroke caused by the virus blood clots, the mother of three was declared dead.
Amazingly, doctors were able save her baby, born via caesarean section at 29 weeks. The boy weighed 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.
YouTube announced in September that it will remove misinformation regarding approved vaccines. This was to expand a ban previously placed on false claims concerning Covid jabs. However, scores of videos are still accessible, some even posted before the announcement.
Amazingly, doctors were able save her baby, born via caesarean section at 29 weeks. The boy weighed 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 by Ms Exley
Robert Kennedy Junior posted one clip of anti-vaxxer Robert Kennedy Junior in November. It contained dangerous claims about vaccines, such as that they are toxic.
An environmental lawyer, and nephew to former US President John F. Kennedy, was banned from Instagram for “repeatingly sharing debunked claims regarding the coronavirus vaccines”. However the clip remains on YouTube with more than 35,000 views.
Christiane Nordrup (ex-doctor and conspiracist), posted another video just six weeks after YouTube pledged. It was a false claim that vaccines are contaminated with dangerous chemicals, which she claimed were used in a psychological experiment by the Government.
After being up almost 2 months, the video was removed by YouTube after MoS reached out to 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: Two-year-old Ms Exley
Imran Ahmed (CEO of CCDH) stated: “Tech giants like YouTube continue to fail to address dangerous misinformation concerning Covid vaccines.
“Promises of better results will be hollow if they don’t act on the key super-spreaders within the lucrative anti-vaxx market and dangerous disinformation that they create. Big Tech’s failures cost lives.
YouTube announced last night that it has removed over a million videos from its site since February 2020. A spokesperson for YouTube said: “We were shocked to hear about Sadie’s story. Our hearts go out and all her loved ones.”
“The safety and security of our users are our highest priority. We remove any content which violates the Covid misinformation guidelines as soon as we can. The review of flagged videos that violate our policies is ongoing. We’ve taken down some.