Big Tech platform YouTube has censored yet another head of state for the unforgivable: He dared to question the liberal narrative concerning COVID-19.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has reportedly been punished by YouTube for sharing his opinions as a head of state regarding COVID-19. “YouTube removed videos from President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil on Wednesday for spreading misinformation about Covid-19, becoming the latest internet platform to act against a leader,” The New York Times reported. The Times illustrated for readers that YouTube “played an important role in Mr. Bolsonaro’s rise to power” and is reportedly “more widely watched in Brazil than all but one television channel.”
A Google spokesperson responded to an inquiry from MRC Free Speech America by explaining: “After a careful review, we removed videos from Jair Bolsonaro's channel for violating our COVID-19 medical misinformation policies.” The platform spokesperson also made the dubious claim that “[w]e apply our policies consistently across the platform, regardless of speaker or political view.”
Unfortunately for people under the grip of Big Tech, the question of which drugs are effective to treat COVID-19 has become extremely politicized, with only a narrow range of opinions allowed. YouTube, for example, is not the only platform to purge users for speculating over the viability of using hydroxychloroquine or Ivermectin as a treatment for COVID-19.
Facebook famously censored speculation over hydroxychloroquine being used as a cure in late July 2020, even when other nations were reportedly using it as a treatment. Reclaim The Net addressed what could be called “a case of digital imperialism” in July 2020. The article pointed out that “Facebook went with imposing the rules of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on its users,” despite hydroxychloroquine’s reported use as a treatment for COVID-19 in other nations. Reclaim The Net referenced a study from Sermo, an organization that facilitates “medical collaboration and crowdsourcing.” The study indicated hydroxychloroquine is one of the most commonly prescribed treatments for the virus:
“Hydroxychloroquine usage amongst COVID-19 treaters is 72% in Spain, 49% in Italy, 41% in Brazil, 39% in Mexico, 28% in France, 23% in the U.S., 17% in Germany, 16% in Canada, 13% in the UK and 7% in Japan.”
YouTube also censored former White House presidential advisor and Dr. Scott Atlas, M.D, for going against the World Health Organization’s narrative. “YouTube has yanked down a video produced by Stanford University's Hoover Institute featuring public health expert Dr. Scott Atlas, M.D., because it ‘contradicts the World Health Organization [WHO] or local health authorities' medical information about COVID-19,’” The Blaze reported in a September 14 article.
Conservatives are under attack. Contact YouTube at 650-253-0000 and demand that Big Tech be held to account to mirror the First Amendment while providing transparency, clarity on “hate speech” and equal footing for conservatives. If you have been censored, contact us at the Media Research Center contact form, and help us hold Big Tech accountable.
