YouTube Censors If You Disagree With The CDC, Even If You’re A Senator – The Federalist
YouTube is once again curbing free speech, this time censoring Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., for disagreeing with the government. Paul posted a video about masks that contradicted current CDC guidance, and as punishment, YouTube removed the video and banned Paul from uploading content for seven days.
Paul originally posted a video of a journalist interviewing him, which included a discussion about the science of masking.
Apparently, because I dared to contradict Dr. Fauci and the government, YouTube has removed my video, Paul said in a response video, which the Big Tech company also removed. YouTube might be a private entity, but theyre acting like an arm of the government censoring those who provide an alternative view to the science deniers in Washington people like Dr. Fauci, who have lied to the American people time and time again about masks.
The offensive content in the video was Pauls claim that N-95 masks are effective but cloth masks are not.
Most of the masks you get over the counter dont work, they dont prevent infection, Paul said. Saying cloth masks work when they dont actually risks lives, as someone may choose to care for a loved one with COVID while only wearing a cloth mask. This is not only bad advice but also potentially deadly information.
Paul said the health experts at the CDC have been ignoring key studies on the efficacy of surgical masks.
A Danish study of 6,000 participants found that wearing a surgical mask did not significantly reduce a persons risk of COVID-19 infection compared to the risks facing those who did not wear masks, Paul said. A Vietnamese study of 1,600 participants found that cloth masks allow for 97 percent penetration of particles the same size as the virus. This study also found that cloth mask wearers had a higher rate of infection than the control group who wore no masks.
Paul said hes always supported N-95 masks because they are more protective, which is why health care workers in contact with COVID-19 wear them instead of cloth coverings.
Dr. Fauci knew that too, which is why he originally lied to the public and said that the masks dont work. He feared not enough health workers would be able to buy N-95 masks if the public was buying them, Paul said. Ask any doctor or nurse what mask they wear when they go into a COVID patients room: only an N-95 mask, because the other masks dont work.
A YouTube spokesperson told The Federalist that Paul has been issued a first strike for his comments on masks.
We removed content from Senator Pauls channel for including claims that masks are ineffective in preventing the contraction or transmission of COVID-19, in accordance with our COVID-19 medical misinformation policies, the spokesperson said. This resulted in a first strike on the channel, which means it cant upload content for a week, per our longstanding three strikes policy. We apply our policies consistently across the platform, regardless of speaker or political views, and we make exceptions for videos that have additional context such as countervailing views from local health authorities.
Although Paul said private companies have a right to ban him, he thinks YouTubes censorship is dangerous.
As a libertarian-leaning senator, I think private companies have the right to ban me if they want to, but I think it is really anti-free speech, anti-progress of science, which involves skepticism and argumentation to arrive at the truth, Paul said. I will try to channel my anger, not in breaking these companies up but by publicly expressing my disagreement with them and publicly promoting other channels that offer free-speech alternatives.
Maggie Hroncich is an intern at The Federalist and a student at Hillsdale College.
Read the original here:
YouTube Censors If You Disagree With The CDC, Even If You're A Senator - The Federalist
- Faith for Libraries Campaign Will Combat Book Censorship and Defend Religious Freedom - American Library Association - November 10th, 2025 [November 10th, 2025]
- Why Jim Gaffigan Calls This the Best Time That Standup Comedy Has Ever Had Despite Censorship and Cancellation - Variety - November 10th, 2025 [November 10th, 2025]
- Britain calls it safety. It is censorship - Al Jazeera - November 7th, 2025 [November 7th, 2025]
- Author Visit Canceled at Last Minute; Maryland Returns Flamer to Shelves | Censorship News - School Library Journal - November 7th, 2025 [November 7th, 2025]
- Breaking norms to survive in war-torn Yemen - Index on Censorship - November 7th, 2025 [November 7th, 2025]
- The GENIUS Acts $250M battle begins now: Bitcoin stands as the last bastion against censorship - CryptoSlate - November 7th, 2025 [November 7th, 2025]
- Fix Indiana Universitys Free Speech Crisis - FIRE | Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression - November 7th, 2025 [November 7th, 2025]
- YouTube Quietly Erased More Than 700 Videos Documenting Israeli Human Rights Violations - The Intercept - November 7th, 2025 [November 7th, 2025]
- How artist Sais exhibition in Thailand was censored after Chinese protests - Index on Censorship - November 7th, 2025 [November 7th, 2025]
- A letter to the Home Secretary on transnational repression in the UK - Index on Censorship - November 7th, 2025 [November 7th, 2025]
- Meet the High Schoolers Who Overturned a State Reading Bowl Book Ban: Book Censorship News, November 7, 2025 - Book Riot - November 7th, 2025 [November 7th, 2025]
- This Journalist Asked the Simplest Question about Israel and Got Fired for It. If Zionists Think This Level of Censorship Helps Them They are Dead... - November 7th, 2025 [November 7th, 2025]
- Revealed: Secret plans to introduce media censorship in Australia - Pearls and Irritations - November 7th, 2025 [November 7th, 2025]
- Application Gatekeeping: An Ever-Expanding Pathway to Internet Censorship - Electronic Frontier Foundation - November 5th, 2025 [November 5th, 2025]
- University Censorship Committee spars over its own legality in first meeting - The Missoulian - November 5th, 2025 [November 5th, 2025]
- Indiana University facing lawsuit after claims it tried to censor student newspaper - NPR - November 5th, 2025 [November 5th, 2025]
- Staff Editorial: Censorship Goes Against the Core of Journalism - Pepperdine Graphic - November 5th, 2025 [November 5th, 2025]
- When speaking out feels risky: ASU study reveals the hidden dynamics of self-censorship - ASU News - November 5th, 2025 [November 5th, 2025]
- We will survive this: Fears about censorship in the entertainment industry grow - depauliaonline.com - November 5th, 2025 [November 5th, 2025]
- Censorship by Omission: How China Edits Reality Before Its Written - The Sunday Guardian - November 5th, 2025 [November 5th, 2025]
- Freedom of speech has never been for everyone : Code Switch - NPR - November 5th, 2025 [November 5th, 2025]
- Arizona university accused of censorship for banning poster - azcentral.com and The Arizona Republic - November 5th, 2025 [November 5th, 2025]
- Letter: Resist those trying to use censorship - The Globe | Worthington, Minnesota - November 5th, 2025 [November 5th, 2025]
- The Bolduc Brief: The Dangers of Censorship - A Critique of the Recent Secretary of Defense Guidance - SOFREP - November 5th, 2025 [November 5th, 2025]
- My Hero Academia's Censorship May Ruin the Final Season's Most Shocking Scene - Screen Rant - November 5th, 2025 [November 5th, 2025]
- Tesla's fourth Robotaxi crash is now official and suspicions grow about censorship of information in reports submitted to NHTSA - Unin Rayo - November 5th, 2025 [November 5th, 2025]
- 'Thank God for GB News!' Donald Trump ally accuses BBC Panorama of 'arrogant censorship' in heated tirade - GB News - November 5th, 2025 [November 5th, 2025]
- Inside the Israeli Media's 'Shocking Self-censorship' of the Horrors of Gaza - Haaretz - November 3rd, 2025 [November 3rd, 2025]
- Exclusive | Facebook still censoring The Posts reporting on Black Lives Matter despite pledge to end restrictions - New York Post - November 3rd, 2025 [November 3rd, 2025]
- New Report Shows Right-Wing School Boards Responsible for Book Banning, Censorship and Anti-LGBTQ Policies Across Pennsylvania - Bucks County Beacon - November 3rd, 2025 [November 3rd, 2025]
- Indiana University Lifts Ban on Printing News in College Newspaper - The New York Times - November 3rd, 2025 [November 3rd, 2025]
- Alfian Saat On Censorship, Courage, And The Power Of Singapore Theatre - a+ Singapore - November 3rd, 2025 [November 3rd, 2025]
- Tech Executives & Others Testify on Internet Censorship - C-SPAN - October 30th, 2025 [October 30th, 2025]
- Russia's Digital Censorship Intensifies with Selective Internet Blocking in 2025 - - October 30th, 2025 [October 30th, 2025]
- Rogue Goodreads Librarian Edits Site to Expose 'Censorship in Favor of Trump Fascism - 404 Media - October 30th, 2025 [October 30th, 2025]
- CNN Boss Ordered Teardown Censorship After V.I.P. West Wing Visit - The Daily Beast - October 30th, 2025 [October 30th, 2025]
- Everybody Loves Wanda Sykes: The Comedy Legend on Ending The Upshaws, Why Her Character Is Straight and Why She Wont Censor Herself in Trumps America... - October 28th, 2025 [October 28th, 2025]
- CNN Boss Ordered Teardown Censorship After V.I.P. West Wing Visit - Yahoo - October 28th, 2025 [October 28th, 2025]
- Online Regulators Have Launched an Operation to Censor Pessimists. Here's Where It's Happening - People.com - October 28th, 2025 [October 28th, 2025]
- Freedom in the Arts launches survey into censorship in the arts - Arts Professional - October 28th, 2025 [October 28th, 2025]
- Gerry Adams: Censorship anniversary is a lesson for today - Irish Echo Newspaper - October 28th, 2025 [October 28th, 2025]
- Theres only room for one god in China - Index on Censorship - October 28th, 2025 [October 28th, 2025]
- The Chainsaw Man Movie is Completely Faithful to the Manga Including the 'Censorship' - Comic Book Resources - October 28th, 2025 [October 28th, 2025]
- Crypto Treasury Stocks Face a Reckoning. Why Boom Could Turn to Bust. - Barron's - October 26th, 2025 [October 26th, 2025]
- The Lone House Democrat Who Thinks His Party Has the Shutdown All Wrong - The Wall Street Journal - October 26th, 2025 [October 26th, 2025]
- Voters are about to speak. What they say might not end the shutdown. - Politico - October 26th, 2025 [October 26th, 2025]
- US government shutdown threatens the spending power of Congress - Reuters - October 26th, 2025 [October 26th, 2025]
- Hungry kids are about to become the new face of the shutdown - MSNBC News - October 26th, 2025 [October 26th, 2025]
- Dems Can Win a Senate Seat in Texas. Yes, Really - Rolling Stone - October 26th, 2025 [October 26th, 2025]
- The shutdowns looming health care cliff - Politico - October 26th, 2025 [October 26th, 2025]
- 'A Nice Indian Boy' | Whats in a name? Ask the censor board - The Hindu - October 26th, 2025 [October 26th, 2025]
- Why Did Indiana University Axe Its Award-Winning Print Newspaper? - The Nation - October 26th, 2025 [October 26th, 2025]
- In America, no government has the right to censor - ironmountaindailynews.com - October 26th, 2025 [October 26th, 2025]
- Buried on the Ballot, Prop 15 Sparks Fears Over Censorship and Trans Youth Care - Dallas Observer - October 24th, 2025 [October 24th, 2025]
- U of M sits tight on institutional speech code amid growing concerns of faculty censorship - MinnPost - October 24th, 2025 [October 24th, 2025]
- Court Awards $885,000 in Attorney Fees After Counseling Censorship Victory - Focus on the Family - October 24th, 2025 [October 24th, 2025]
- Organizers Cancel a University Conference on Censorship After Being Warned It Could Run Afoul of Utah Law Unless It Was Censored. Yes, You Read that... - October 24th, 2025 [October 24th, 2025]
- The Librarians Centers the Educators Fighting Book Bans - The Progressive - October 24th, 2025 [October 24th, 2025]
- EDITORIAL: In wake of Indiana University, student press must stand as one against censorship - The Daily Eastern News - October 24th, 2025 [October 24th, 2025]
- College faculty are under pressure to say and do the right thing the stress also trickles down to students - The Conversation - October 24th, 2025 [October 24th, 2025]
- Russian censorship body confirms it has partially blocked WhatsApp and Telegram - - October 24th, 2025 [October 24th, 2025]
- Editorial: The Spectator Condemns the Suppression of Free Speech at IU - seattlespectator.com - October 24th, 2025 [October 24th, 2025]
- Opinion | My Bosses Were Afraid of Crossing Trump. So, I Quit. - Politico - October 23rd, 2025 [October 23rd, 2025]
- Trump Campaigned on Free Speech. That Isn't How He's Governed. - Reason Magazine - October 23rd, 2025 [October 23rd, 2025]
- Watertown Group Hosting Presentation on Promoting Inclusion, Resisting Censorship - Watertown News - October 23rd, 2025 [October 23rd, 2025]
- No, There Never Was a Biden Censorship-Industrial Complex - theunpopulist.net - October 23rd, 2025 [October 23rd, 2025]
- Indiana University subsidizes IDS, so it has the right to cut print editions | Letters - IndyStar - October 23rd, 2025 [October 23rd, 2025]
- EDITORIAL: Statement in support of the Indiana Daily Student - The Butler Collegian - October 23rd, 2025 [October 23rd, 2025]
- Censorship is the Real Danger, Not the Books - Talon Marks - October 23rd, 2025 [October 23rd, 2025]
- Censoring the Indiana Daily Student contradicts IU's core principles | Letters - IndyStar - October 23rd, 2025 [October 23rd, 2025]
- The censors have names. Use them. - goSkagit - October 23rd, 2025 [October 23rd, 2025]
- CT ACLU Legal Director: The closest analog to us is the McCarthy era - dailycampus.com - October 23rd, 2025 [October 23rd, 2025]
- Contents Truth, trust & tricksters: Free expression in the age of AI - Index on Censorship - October 23rd, 2025 [October 23rd, 2025]
- Geopolitics and Corruption - A History of the Objections to NGO Participation in the UN Convention Against Corruption, 2017-2023 - The National Law... - October 23rd, 2025 [October 23rd, 2025]
- Why the Open Technology Fund Is Worth Saving - The Dispatch - October 23rd, 2025 [October 23rd, 2025]
- LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Reactions to IU's censorship of the IDS - Indiana Daily Student - October 21st, 2025 [October 21st, 2025]
- Whats the biggest threat to free speech censorship or contempt? - Deseret News - October 21st, 2025 [October 21st, 2025]
- Jodi Picoult decries 'devastating' H.S. cancelation of her musical 'Between the Lines' - Asbury Park Press - October 21st, 2025 [October 21st, 2025]
- Self-censorship and the spiral of silence: Why Americans are less likely to publicly voice their opinions on political issues - Yahoo - October 21st, 2025 [October 21st, 2025]
- My first encounter with censorship - Grand Haven Tribune - October 21st, 2025 [October 21st, 2025]