YouTube removed hundreds of videos of Israeli human rights violations to comply with Trump sanctions

Question

The Trump administration is being complacent with the efforts to silence Palestinian voices and the community on the internet. According the The Intercept, the tech giant YouTube has deleted all videos that documented several Israeli human rights violations in early October by wiping the accounts that posted that coverage. By participating in the violation of international law that acts upon censorship, silently removing accounts such al Al-Haw, the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, and the Palestinian Center for Human Rights in October, with well over 700 videos documenting the brutality the Israeli military was using against Palestinians, questioning the Trump administration and their power over silencing voices that are deemed too supportive of Palestinians.

It's also important to note that all three of these groups that the State Department hit with sanctions back in September were because they helped bring evidence before the International Criminal Court against the Israeli Prime Minister and former Defense Minister for war crimes. Considering all of these factors, it really does seem as if the Trump administration is seeking to punish critics of the genocide that Israel is conducting in Gaza.

Answer 1

I assume it is true that Google’s video-hosting platform,YouTube, silently removed the accounts of the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, Al-Haq, and the Palestinian Center for Human Rights in early October. The channels contained more than 700 videos documenting alleged human rights violations committed against Palestinian by Israel. According to “International Business Times” (a slightly left-leaning American online newspaper), YouTube spokesperson Boot Bullwinkle stated that Google is committed to complying with applicable sanctions and trade compliance laws. However, critics argue that Youtube’s actions go far beyond legal compliance. Katherine Gallagher, a senior staff lawyer at the Center for Constitutional Rights, insisted that “Congress did not intend to allow the president to cut off the flow of information to the American public and the world — instead, information, including documents and videos, are specifically exempted under the statute that the president cited as his authority for issuing the ICC sanctions”.

https://www.ibtimes.com/why-did-youtube-delete-over-700-videos-alleged-israeli-human-rights-violations-3789739

According to AllSides Media Bias Chart, news outlets like International Business Times or The Intercept (YouTube Erased 700 Videos of Israeli Human Rights Violations) are considered slightly left-leaning. I also searched for reports from outlets classified as centrist, but I could not find any addressing this topic. Nevertheless, I am fairly confident that the claim is true.

https://www.allsides.com/media-bias/media-bias-chart

Comments

I like that you included details from both the International Business Times and AllSides to show where the information came from and what bias might be present. It’s also good that you mentioned how the removal of the videos is being debated, not just stated as fact. You could make your post even stronger by briefly noting why YouTube might have felt pressure to take the videos down, just to show both sides of the issue.