Decades ago, when Big Tech first offered its services, it promised that it was creating a digital community square where the public was welcome to participate in public discourse. And in the beginning, this was certainly true. Then millions of Americans created Twitter, Facebook and YouTube accounts.
Families often used these social media accounts to keep distant relatives and friends informed, and others used them to set up digital clubs to discuss topics of mutual interest. Still more regularly used the platforms to engage in robust debate about the important issues of the day.
It was in this spirit that Project 21 joined YouTube. We were founded to promote the views of blacks whose patriotism, entrepreneurial spirit, dedication to family and commitment to personal responsibility haven’t been promoted in the media or by the so-called civil rights establishment. Our ambassadors appear on TV, radio, in print and on campuses across the country. As the hard Left has racialized practically every policy and discussion topic, YouTube seemed like a natural space to amplify our activities and remind people of Martin Luther King’s vision that we Americans—black and white—shouldn’t be judged by our race, but by the content of our character.
But what Big Tech gives, it can take away. And over the last few years, it has aggressively engaged in retrenchment. This is especially true for YouTube.
Our group Project 21 is the latest victim of YouTube censorship. One of our ambassadors, Chris Arps, a prominent radio talk show host, was suspended over making the commonsense observation that the majority of gays don’t support the sexualization of young children.
YouTube claims that such a view “violates our violent or graphic content policy.” How so? Is YouTube claiming that Arps’ statement is false? They won’t say.
But this is the pattern.
Ask Dan Bongino. Bongino, host of the popular Fox News “Unfiltered,” was unceremoniously banned from YouTube last January. His crime: telling his audience that the use of masks lacked scientific consensus as a valid means of stopping the spread of COVID-19.
Now the CDC has put out guidance in the last couple weeks announcing that masking is largely optional—even in hospitals and nursing homes. If you check, the CDC’s YouTube page is still working.
Earlier, YouTube suspended a sitting U.S. Senator, Ron Johnson (R-Wis.). He dared to release data from the Vaccine Adverse Effects Reporting System (VAERS), a database run by the CDC. The results showed that there were more than 17,000 deaths attributed to the vaccine in the first year.
Meanwhile, less than a week ago, a peer-reviewed study revealed a link between myocarditis and COVID vaccines. In fact, the study concluded that COVID vaccination is associated with “higher risk of myocarditis death, not only in young adults but also in all age groups including the elderly.”
Remember the lie that the vaccines prevented transmission? CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky claimed last year that “vaccinated people do not carry the virus, don’t get sick.” You guessed it—her YouTube page is still accessible and has never been suspended.
But YouTube’s censorship isn’t just associated with COVID mitigation matters. Like the other members of Big Tech, Twitter and Facebook, social media giants have made a giant left turn embracing a woke world view.
And YouTube has led the way. YouTube has all but turned its platform into an exclusive club of wokesters where only the extremist views of the far Left are welcomed and celebrated.
Their message is clear. Adhere to our views—or else.
If you post an apocalyptic episode explaining that the end of the planet is coming in less than seven years, not only will your YouTube page remain on their network, but you can also monetize it—meaning you can raise money. Reminiscent of the clergymen in the ’70s and ’80s on AM radio, who were condemned for sharing an apocalyptic eschatology that conveniently lined their pockets, this is all fine on YouTube.
This summer, YouTube suspended CPAC (Conservative Political Action Coalition) over “misinformation” allegedly broadcast at its August convention in Texas. The conference featured high-profile conservatives such as former President Donald Trump, Fox News host Sean Hannity, Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), and Representative Jim Jordan (R-Ohio).
Incredibly, The Hill’s morning politics show “Rising” was suspended for carrying excerpts of the CPAC event along with their own independent commentary.
It is clear that YouTube no longer wants to be a place where Americans—particularly those of modest means lacking friends in high places—can participate in high profile events digitally.
Americans are seeing Big Tech for what it is: social platforms operated by woke scolds more interested in lining their pockets than creating a space for America to engage in discourse.
And they’ll remember this November.