‘YouTube is no saint,’ its overreach on conservative voices is a prime example

The Right-Wing is undoubtedly battling a difficult and intricate situation. In what can be seen as an attempt to silence the conservative voices, social media platforms have been targeting right-wing accounts and limiting their reach.

Earlier, Twitter India hogged the limelight for targeting the right-wing. Now, it is YouTube– a user-generated video-sharing platform. No, it is not a mere assumption but is being illustrated by practical ground realities.

Sansad YouTube channel compromised

What came as a shock for Indians on the 15^th of February, the YouTube channel of Sansad TV was terminated. Sansad Television reported that its YouTube channel-Sansad TV was compromised by some scamsters.

“YouTube has started fixing the security threats permanently and it shall be restored ASAP,” it added. For those unversed, Sansad TV broadcasts live proceedings of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

While addressing the media, it reported “Sansad TV’s social media team promptly worked on it and got the channel restored by early morning at around 3.45 am, including live streaming on this Channel. Also, the Channel name has been changed to “Ethereum” by the attacker. However, Sansad TV’s Social Media Team promptly worked on it and got the Sansad TV Channel restored by early morning at around 0345 hours.”

YouTube suspended Donald Trumps’ account

Earlier in January 2021, Former President Donald Trump’s YouTube channel was also suspended. The suspension prevented the uploading of new videos or live streams to the channel. Moreover, comments on the channel were also disabled indefinitely. Notably, the channel then had nearly 2.8 million subscribers.

The video-sharing platform had then stated, “In light of concerns about the ongoing potential for violence, the Donald J. Trump channel will remain suspended. Our teams are staying vigilant and closely monitoring for any new developments.”

YouTube’s overreach against conservative voices

The question of whether conservative voices are being “silenced” on the platform has repeatedly been raised. However, Google had rejected the claims last year that its YouTube video sharing platform illegally censored conservative content.

But, the conservative non-profit school, run by radio talk show host Dennis Prager, had reported that “YouTube had wrongly tagged dozens of videos for its Restricted Mode, which blocked third-party advertising.”

Moreover, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) had also slammed Google for its political bias and claimed YouTube had censored conservative voices.

Also Read: YouTube is removing dislike button because poor old Joe’s dislikes tell a very sorry tale

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida) had also written a letter to YouTube Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Susan Wojcicki. In the letter, he raised concerns over the fact that conservatives were being censored.

“I write to you regarding a concerning series of actions by YouTube to censor or otherwise restrict the speech of its users, particularly ones of religiously or politically conservative backgrounds,” Rubio wrote.

He further added, “A combination of high-profile moderating actions have recently made headlines and raised questions over a pattern of apparent political and religious bias on YouTube’s part.”

Moreover, the question was raised that whether social media companies have the right to post. The issue is a major concern for many as they rely on the platform for news and information. But, under the garb of rules, they can silence anyone based on what their ideology is.

“They are powerful enough to ‘deplatform’ an American president, even as they allow Taliban accounts to remain,” Rubio angrily stated. He added, “It is increasingly clear that they are making decisions based on woke priorities of the mob, which wants to cancel conservatives, people of faith, and anyone else who doesn’t agree with them. If these companies insist on editorializing content, then we need to take away their Section 230 protection.”

YouTube has a tendency to silence those who are against the liberal ideology. From Dhruv Rathee to Zakir Naik, the liberal ecosystem seemingly is privileged as the social media platform is left-biased. But the right-wing ecosystem should hold itself together and battle it out with all its might.