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YouTube to remove videos promoting election fraud claims
Following Wednesday’s violent pro-Trump riot at the U.S. Capitol, YouTube announced Thursday that it would remove certain videos that promote claims of fraud in the 2020 president election.
RELATED: 4 dead, 52 arrested, 14 police officers injured after U.S. Capitol Siege
This move from the internet’s foremost video platform comes after Facebook and Instagram indefinitely banned President Donald Trump for at least the remaining two weeks of his presidency.
“Due to the disturbing events that transpired yesterday, and given that the election results have now been certified, starting today *any* channels posting new videos with false claims in violation of our policies will now receive a strike,” YouTube’s official multi-tweet statement reads.
The video site then went on to describe how over the past month it had taken down “thousand of videos” promoting claims that widespread fraud affected the outcome of the 2020 election, including “several videos” that Trump uploaded to his channel.
“Like other major policy updates, in our Help Center, we noted that there would be a short grace period after the Dec update & new content that broke our rules would be removed without penalty,” the statement continues. “The grace period was scheduled to end on Inauguration Day.”
“Channels that receive a strike are temporarily suspended from posting or live streaming,” YouTube explained. “Channels that receive three strikes in the same 90-day period will be permanently removed from YouTube. We apply our policies and penalties consistently, regardless of who uploads it.”
In an email from YouTube presumably sent to conservative pundit Dave Rubin, a screenshot of which he shared on Twitter, the platform said that it does not allow content that “misleads people” by promoting such election fraud claims, adding that “[t]his policy applies to videos uploaded on or after December 9.”
On the other hand, content with “sufficient ESDA context,” YouTube pointed out, is allowed to remain on its site, “though we require a higher bar for making these kind of exceptions.”
The email then went on to explain the latest policy change affecting videos posted after Thursday, January 7.
“Now that the election results have been certified, and due to the extraordinary events that transpired [on Wednesday],” the email continued, “videos uploaded on or after today (January 7) that violate this policy will both be removed and a strike will be applied to the channel.”
You can follow Douglas Braff on Twitter @Douglas_P_Braff.
In a significant development, Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, was indicted on Thursday on federal gun charges as part of Special Counsel David Weiss’ ongoing investigation. The indictment alleges that Hunter Biden made false statements during the purchase of a firearm, among other charges.
The charges against Hunter Biden include:
• Making a false statement in the purchase of a firearm
• Making a false statement related to information required to be kept by a federal firearms licensed dealer
•Possession of a firearm by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance
According to the indictment, the alleged incident occurred on or about October 12, 2018, in the District of Delaware. Hunter Biden is accused of knowingly making a false and fictitious written statement during the acquisition of a Colt Cobra 38SPL Revolver. According to reports from Fox News, the statement, submitted on Form 4473, falsely certified that he was not an unlawful user of, and addicted to, any stimulant, narcotic drug, or controlled substance.
Furthermore, the indictment further states that between October 12, 2018, and October 23, 2018, in the District of Delaware, Hunter Biden knowingly possessed the same firearm despite being an unlawful user of and addicted to controlled substances. This marks the first set of charges brought by Special Counsel David Weiss against Hunter Biden since being granted special counsel status.
The investigation came to public attention when it was reported by Fox News in 2021 that police had responded to an incident in 2018 involving a gun owned by Hunter Biden.
Reports state that, Hallie Biden, the widow of President Biden’s late son, Beau, who was in a relationship with Hunter at the time, discarded the gun. Hunter’s gun was thrown away in a dumpster near a market, located close to a school. It was subsequently revealed that Hunter Biden had purchased a gun earlier that same month.
Hunter Biden’s legal troubles do not end with the gun charges. Earlier in July, an original plea agreement collapsed, which would have seen him plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax counts for willful failure to pay federal income tax, thus avoiding jail time on a felony gun charge. Instead, he pleaded not guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges and one felony gun charge.
Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed David Weiss as special counsel to oversee the Hunter Biden investigation and related matters. The White House has declined to comment on these developments, which continue to draw significant public and media attention.
Follow Alexander Carter on Twitter @AlexCarterDC for more!
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