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YouTube censored the governor of Florida, Republican Ron DeSantis, and a group of experts who questioned the use of masks on children.
The Google-owned video giant said it removed a discussion between the Florida governor and medical experts for contradicting the “consensus of local and global health authorities.”
Why did YouTube censor DeSantis?
It was a video that was posted by the American Institute for Economic Research, which showed a recent roundtable discussion about the pandemic situation and the policies implemented by DeSantis.
Had a great meeting about resuming cruises – @CDCgov should rescind its destructive no-sail order. pic.twitter.com/mIV8R6vhpu
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) March 26, 2021
According to The Wrap portal, in the video, the scientists urged schools, restaurants, and cultural centers to resume their activities. They also stated that only high-risk people should stay home if they wanted to and that children did not need to wear face masks.
DeSantis, who moderated the table, asked Dr. Jay Bhattacharya of Stanford University whether it is necessary for children to wear face masks. He replied that it is “developmentally inappropriate” and that it “does not help the spread of the disease”.
Harvard professor Dr. Martin Kulldorff responded that “children should not wear face masks,” because “They don’t need it for their own protection and they don’t need it for protecting other people, either.”
YouTube told The Wrap in a statement that the video was taken down due to the mask comments, which violated the video website’s “medical misinformation COVID-19” clause. “YouTube has clear policies around COVID-19 medical misinformation to support the health and safety of our users,” a spokesperson told the media outlet.
This is not the first time that the Google-owned company has decided to censor expert opinions that contradict the standards set by the World Health Organization (WHO). In February, the video portal decided to censor the Senate by removing two videos of a session in which medical specialists offered their testimonies on the first treatments for patients with coronavirus (COVID-19).
The deleted videos were part of a Dec. 8 Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing. One was a 30-minute summary and the other was the opening statement of critical care specialist Pierre Kory.
The curious thing about the case is that at the December hearing Dr. Kory presented evidence on the use of ivermectin as an early treatment for COVID-19. Before YouTube removed the videos the ivermectin statement had been viewed by over eight million people.
DeSantis vs. Big Tech
In the wake of ongoing censorship by Big Tech companies such as Amazon, Google, and Apple, Florida’s governor undertook an initiative with the state House of Representatives. This includes having a bill discussed and passed that would penalize companies that use censorship to harm various lines of thought.
Under the new measure, technology companies that censor or block a candidate during an election would face a daily fine of $100,000 until access to the platform is restored.
Also, if one of the companies goes so far as to promote one candidate for free by favoring him over another, the value of that promotion must be registered as a political campaign contribution with the Florida Elections Commission.
Indiana prosecutor behind Big Tech
This week it was learned that Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita will launch an investigation against Big Tech for harming the state’s users by limiting and censoring conservative content.
Rokita claims Big Tech is “deleting” material that reflects politically conservative views and added that “such manipulation prevents consumers from making informed decisions.
“In a free society, few assets are more important to consumers than access to information and the opportunity to express political viewpoints in meaningful forums,” the prosecutor asserted.
The prosecutor is also investigating Big Tech’s involvement in the past presidential election.
Sabrina Martín Rondon is a Venezuelan journalist. Her source is politics and economics. She is a specialist in corporate communications and is committed to the task of dismantling the supposed benefits of socialism // Sabrina Martín Rondon es periodista venezolana. Su fuente es la política y economía. Es especialista en comunicaciones corporativas y se ha comprometido con la tarea de desmontar las supuestas bondades del socialismo