DISINFO: Deleting RT DE channel from YouTube is a pure demonstration of power
SUMMARY
YouTube's decision to delete two RT DE channels for allegedly spreading medical misinformation is unfounded. It is purely a demonstration of power - it is political censorship. Anything that is not liked is declared "fake news".
RESPONSE
The claim frames Youtube's actions as motivated by censorship and anti-Russian sentiment, without mentioning the official reason why the two channels were disabled.
The accusations against RT are not unfounded. YouTube openly outlined that deleting the RT channels in German was in accordance with the open and repeated breach of YouTube Terms of Service in regards to Covid-19 misinformation.
In August 2021, YouTube said to have erased 1 million videos for spreading misinformation related to Covid-19, and on 29 September 2021, it expanded the ban to all misinformation on vaccines, such as conspiracy theories and other viral falsehoods.
With these rules in place, YouTube decided to suspend RT DE, the German service of the Russian TV channel, for one week, given the prominent space and amplification that it provides for the so-called “Querdenker”, members of the coronavirus-sceptic movement. After that, RT DE tried to use a second YouTube channel, Der Fehlende Part, to circumvent the suspension, which led YouTube to close both channels for breaking its Terms of Service.
Accusations of censorship and attacks against freedom of expression are a recurring pro-Kremlin technique to defend the illicit actions of Russia’s state-sponsored disinformation outlets. Claims of “interference” are also frequently raised to deflect any criticism of Russian authorities by international media.
See other examples of similar disinformation narratives in our database, such as claims that Washington and Brussels implement an information war against the people of Russia and Belarus, that RT and Sputnik are repeatedly accused without evidence, that Western media suppress all facts and opinions that differ from official narratives, that the reason behind sanctioning RT in Latvia is still unclear or that Western countries are persecuting Russian media.