Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) has become angered by YouTube’s decision to censor the second video he posted regarding the violation of COVID-19 community guidelines. In addition, the tech giant has prohibited him from posting any more content for a period of one week.
On Tuesday, Paul fumed to reporters, observing that YouTube has started to ban all of his speech, including a speech that he delivered on the Senate floor, which is “protected constitutional” speech.
“YouTube now thinks they are smart enough and godly enough that they can oversee speech, even constitutionally protected speech,” Paul added.
In the past week, YouTube also removed a video of Paul’s interview with Newsmax.
In the interview, Paul addressed his various suspicions regarding the origins of the Wuhan virus, as well as his ongoing feud with Anthony Fauci. Currently, Paul and Fauci are sparring over the extent to which the United States funded research taking place in the Wuhan laboratory in China, as well as the fact that the vast majority of face masks are inadequate for stopping the spread of the virus.
Paul, who is a doctor, recorded and uploading a second video that criticized YouTube for removing his content, and he also promoted Rumble, an alternative platform that does not restrict free speech. Additionally, Paul also doubled down on his beliefs regarding masks.
Paul pointed out that claiming that “cloth masks work, when they don’t” can actually increase the chance of risking lives, especially if someone may wear only a cloth mask while caring for their loved ones.
Not only is the approval of cloth masks “bad advice,” but it is “also potentially deadly misinformation,” Paul continued.
However, YouTube took down that video as well, insisting that it was a violation of the YouTube community guidelines; the platform has also instituted a weeklong ban on Paul’s account.
Thus far, the platform has elected not to comment.
Paul has been censored by YouTube in the past. For instance, in 2019, the platform removed a video that Paul had uploaded, wherein he referenced the official name of the alleged whistleblower. This whistleblower had claimed concern about Donald Trump’s phone call with the Ukrainian president, which ultimately led to the impeachment of Trump for the first time.
While Paul acknowledges that YouTube can ban him if they wish, given that the platform is a private company, he also noted that YouTube is essentially “an arm of the government” that can operate with impunity.
Paul assails YouTube and Google, the parent company of YouTube, as “anti-free speech,” as well as “anti-progress” with regards to science, given that science always involves argumentation and skepticism to arrive at the truth.
However, both companies have become “so huge” that they now believe “they are the arbitrator of truth,” Paul observed.
Paul continued to advocate for Rumble, adding that he hopes “maybe through competition,” YouTube and Google will be proven “wrong in their ways.”
