YouTube Removes 2nd Video of Rand Paul, Suspends Him for 7 Days Over Alleged COVID-19 Misinformation

YouTube has removed a second video on its platform posted by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and has suspended him from uploading content for a week, stating that he violated community guidelines on COVID-19.

“They are now banning all my speech, including speech that is given on the Senate floor,” the Republican senator told reporters on Aug. 10. “YouTube now thinks they are smart enough and godly enough that they can oversee speech, even constitutionally protected speech.”

In a Twitter post, Paul called the suspension a “badge of honor,” and included a link to watch the video on an alternate platform.

The removed video contained discussions on the origins of COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, and the use of masks to prevent its transmission.

“Leftwing cretins at Youtube banning me for seven days for a video that quotes two peer-reviewed articles saying cloth masks don’t work,” Paul wrote.

The video-sharing platform first removed a video last week of an interview the senator did with Newsmax.

“This resulted in a first strike on the channel, which means it can’t upload content for a week, per our longstanding three-strikes policy,” a YouTube spokesperson told news outlets of the decision. “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.”

According to CNN, claims flagged by YouTube included the following statement: “Most of the masks you get over the counter don’t work. They don’t prevent infection.”

Another line from the video that YouTube said violated community guidelines on COVID-19 was, “Trying to shape human behavior isn’t the same as following the actual science, which tells us that cloth masks don’t work.”

“I think this kind of censorship is very dangerous, incredibly anti-free speech, and truly anti-progress of science, which involves skepticism and argumentation to arrive at the truth,” Paul said in an Aug. 10 statement.

Representatives for YouTube didn’t respond to a request by The Epoch Times for comment by press time.

Isabel Van Brugen

REPORTER

Isabel is an award-winning journalist, currently working as a news reporter at The Epoch Times. She graduated with a distinction in Newspaper Journalism MA from City, University of London, and is a language graduate from Queen Mary, University of London. She has worked with a variety of publications such as The Times of London, London Evening Standard, Grazia UK, Daily Express, and Bang Showbiz.