(Article by Kayla Sargent republished from NewsBusters.org)
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) blasted Google and YouTube for censoring a March 18 COVID-19 roundtable discussion with several doctors, and then held another roundtable discussion with those same doctors.
The March 18 video included Dr. Scott Atlas, a former member of the White House coronavirus task force, as well as Dr. Sunetra Gupta, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya and Dr. Martin Kulldorff, the authors of the anti-lockdown Great Barrington Declaration.
YouTube quickly removed the video, according to Reclaim the Net, lest anyone contradict its perceived truth about COVID-19. The platform claimed that it “removed this video because it included content that contradicts the consensus of local and global health authorities regarding the efficacy of masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19,” the company said in a statement reported by the Associated Press.
DeSantis’s office confirmed the video’s removal and bashed YouTube in a statement to MRC Free Speech America. “YouTube’s action is another blatant example of Big Tech attempting to silence those who disagree with their woke corporate agenda.” The statement continued: “Good public health policy should include a variety of scientific and technical expertise, and YouTube’s decision to remove this video suppresses productive dialogue of these complex issues.”
DeSantis did not stay silent about the censorship during his April 12 roundtable. “Google and YouTube have cited the insights of these experts I’ve just discussed as being misinformation. Now, they say it’s misinformation, even though Google and YouTube routinely host conspiracy theory videos, ranging from the cause of the 9/11 attacks to the role that 5G networks play in causing COVID-19,” he said.
DeSantis also bashed Google and YouTube for acting as “enforcers of a narrative.”
YouTube has acted as the COVID-19 truth czar for months. The platform allegedly censored the channel of famed medical doctor, Dr. Drew. It even censored Senate testimony from doctors about COVID-19. The largest video platform also censored testimony in the Ohio state legislature.
Read more at: NewsBusters.org and Censorship.news.