YouTube has removed a video by conservative news outlet The Daily Signal, over one sentence that YouTube claims violates their “hate speech” policy.
In the original video, Dr. Michelle Cretella, a pediatrician and executive director at the American Academy of Pediatricians, commented on the insanity of wanting to mutilate one’s body for the sake of becoming transgender.
“See, if you want to cut off a leg or an arm you’re mentally ill, but if you want to cut off healthy breasts or a penis, you’re transgender,” Cretella said.
Now, YouTube has replaced The Daily Signal’s video with a message saying, “this video has been removed for violating YouTube’s policy on hate speech.”
“Hate speech is not allowed on YouTube. We remove content promoting violence or hatred against individuals or groups based on any of the following attributes,” YouTube’s policy reads. Among those attributes are “gender identity.”
The Daily Signal’s Editor-in-Chief, Katrina Trinko, detailed the fight between the conservative news outlet and YouTube in her latest column.
Over the past few months, The Daily Signal worked with YouTube to try to reach a resolution. Ultimately, we were told the only way we could get the video back on YouTube was to delete the previously mentioned sentence.
In other words, we had two choices: censor the doctor’s words or have no video on the world’s biggest video platform.
This should horrify every YouTube user—and anyone who values the importance of a public square featuring a variety of perspectives. Cretella’s words are no doubt controversial. She is no stranger to criticism, and neither is The Daily Signal. We welcome debate. But we don’t want to be censored.
Google and YouTube are showcasing their clear bias against science, reality, and diversity of thought. Especially when it comes to conservative thought.
This is not the first time this has happened to a conservative news outlet or conservative organization. In June, YouTube demonetized comedian Steven Crowder after a pressure campaign by a gay Vox writer. In 2016, YouTube restricted educational videos from the conservative, nonprofit educational organization PragerU. The videos in question included a wide range of subjects from national security and foreign policy, to the Second Amendment and abortion. PragerU ended up suing the Google-owned YouTube for unlawful censorship and free speech discrimination.
This is not a one time occurrence, but a consistent attempt to de-platform conservatives and conservative thought from the largest video platform in the world.
