YouTube Removes a CN Live! Episode
February 24, 2021
It appears just reporting claims that the 2020 election was stolen, without
supporting those claims, is enough for YouTube to ban a video.
YouTube has informed Consortium News that it has removed an episode of CN
Live! for violating its policy on "spam, deceptive practices and scams."
YouTube also suspended CN Live! for a week. Its notice said:
"Your content was removed due to a violation of our Community Guidelines.
Your channel now has 1 strike. You won't be able to do things like upload,
post, or live stream for 1 week. A second strike will prevent you from
publishing content for 2 weeks."
The live episode, which aired on Jan. 14, was about voter suppression in the
Jan. 5 Senate runoff elections in Georgia. It featured journalist Greg
Palast as a live guest and also showed a clip from Palast's film on the
issue.
The clip begins with a scene of Trump supporters claiming voter fraud in the
November election. The clip and the live discussion with Palast went on to
refute that claim, reporting instead that voter suppression by Republicans
had instead taken place in Georgia.
YouTube said that Consortium News had violated this policy:
"Spam, deceptive practices and scams
Content that advances false claims that widespread fraud, errors, or
glitches changed the outcome of the U.S. 2020 presidential election is not
allowed on YouTube."
It appears that just reporting on claims that the 2020 election was stolen,
without supporting those claims, is enough for either a YouTube algorithm or
human reviewer to banish a video. It appears likely that only the first
minute of the video was viewed and an incorrect assessment was made.
Under pressure from Democratic lawmakers, social media companies have been
removing content that Democrats do not agree with, in particular claims that
the election was fraudulent. That the CN Live! episode said the opposite and
was not recognized by YouTube is the latest example of out-of-control
policing of speech.Consortium News has appealed YouTube's decision. It
reads:
"We are appealing your decision to remove this video & suspend us for a
week. We can show the decision was made in error. Our video does not in any
way support the claim the 2020 election was stolen. In fact it does the
opposite. The video opens with a scene of Trump supporters making that
claim, but as a journalism organization we were merely reporting, and not
supporting that. The rest of the video debunks it, explaining that
Republicans were engaging in voter suppression, which is totally different
from voter fraud. Viewing the video beyond the first 1m19s, (where a woman
calls Trump's claims "ridiculous") will show we reject those claims & that
your decision was mistaken. Clearly an algorithm or a human reviewer saw
only the first minute of the video and made an incorrect assessment."
