YouTube reinstated a left-leaning watchdog after it was “mistakenly suspended,” according to the video platform.
The account for Right Wing Watch, which describes itself as “a project of People For the American Way that monitors and exposes the activities of Radical Right political organizations,” was reinstated Monday after the group shared screenshots showing it had been banned from the video-sharing platform.
“Right Wing Watch’s YouTube channel was mistakenly suspended, but upon further review, has now been reinstated,” a spokesperson for YouTube said in an email to the Washington Examiner.
SUSPENDED, BANNED, AND DELETED: CENSORSHIP WAR BETWEEN BIG TECH AND REPUBLICANS, IN THEIR OWN WORDS
RWW made headlines earlier in the day after it tweeted screenshots of email communications apparently from YouTube saying the group was being suspended from the platform.
“Our efforts to expose the bigoted view and dangerous conspiracy theories spread by right-wing activists has now resulted in YouTube banning our channel and removing thousands of our videos. We attempted to appeal this decision, and YouTube rejected it,” the group tweeted Monday morning.
Our efforts to expose the bigoted view and dangerous conspiracy theories spread by right-wing activists has now resulted in @YouTube banning our channel and removing thousands of our videos. We attempted to appeal this decision, and YouTube rejected it. pic.twitter.com/74Rfi31uQe
— Right Wing Watch (@RightWingWatch) June 28, 2021
YouTube told RWW it has “removed [its] channel” due to its “severe or repeated violations of [YouTube’s] Community Guidelines,” according to screenshots shared by RWW.
“We know this is probably very upsetting news, but it’s our job to make sure that YouTube is a safe place for all,” the message from YouTube continued, noting RWW maintained the right to appeal the decision.
A second screenshot shared by RWW appeared to show YouTube notified the group it “decided to keep [RWW’s] account suspended.”
Neither email mentioned which terms RWW violated.
The notion Big Tech platforms censor dissenting voices has long made headlines, including when former President Donald Trump was de-platformed following the Jan. 6. Capitol Hill attack. Twitter, Facebook, and others said Trump’s words and actions preceding the attack incited violence and warranted removal.
Although Trump’s Facebook account may be reinstated someday, its independent Oversight Board recommended last month the ban remain in place temporarily. On June 4, Facebook determined the ban would continue for at least two years.
Sen. Josh Hawley told the Washington Examiner the subject of Big Tech censorship was “hard” because “the standards are so opaque.”
“You know, I mean, take Live Action, for instance, the pro-life group that Facebook has banned on a couple of occasions and reinstated them. Well, [since] this has happened, they’ve never been able to get an explanation from Facebook as to why exactly they were banned or de-platformed or censored,” he continued.
Facebook said it receives criticism from both the Left and the Right.
“While many Republicans think we should take one course, many Democrats think we should do the exact opposite. We’ve faced criticism from Republicans for being biased against conservatives and Democrats for not taking more steps to restrict the exact same content,” a spokesperson for Facebook said in an email to the Washington Examiner. “We have rules in place to protect free expression and we will continue to apply them impartially.”
Rep. Madison Cawthorn, who has had a video taken down by YouTube, argued these incidents are consequential because they restrict access to information.
“[Censorship] doesn’t allow us to be able to talk about controversial issues. It doesn’t allow us to be able to challenge the status quo to actually make changes in our country that are going to be beneficial for all Americans,” he said, citing free speech protections as instrumental in allowing criticism of segregation and the Vietnam War to lead to meaningful reform.
A bipartisan group in the House has attempted reform as Democratic Rep. David Cicilline joined Cawthorn and Republican Reps. Ken Buck and Matt Gaetz, among others, to co-sponsor an antitrust package of five bills aimed at breaking up Big Tech companies.
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The legislative bundle was heralded for its efforts to diminish the corporations’ power, with one glaring flaw, according to Rep. Jim Jordan: It fails to address the question of censorship.
“Democrats: Don’t really want to break up #BigTech — Refuse to address tech’s censorship of conservatives. — Want to give President Biden more power to ‘fix’ the problem,” the Ohio Republican tweeted after the legislation was announced.
