The MIT Technology Review recently reported that Google-owned YouTube has been censoring Kazakh Human Rights groups intermittently across the platform. The left-leaning outlet recently reported on the Masters of the Universe censoring Kazakh dissidents and activists focusing on human rights in China’s Xinjiang province.
The MIT Technology Review reports that for over a week, a YouTube channel regularly visited by Kazakh dissidents and observers of human rights in Xinjiang has been intermittently shut down. On June 15, the YouTube channel Atajurt Kazakh Human Rights was shut down, with a statement from YouTube saying that the channel had been “terminated for violating YouTube’s community guidelines.”
Just a few days later, the channel was reinstated but had 12 videos removed from its public feed shortly after the reinstatement. Atajurt collects and publishes video testimonies from family members of people imprisoned in China’s internment camps in Xinjiang.
To verify the individuals in the videos, Atajurt requires that each person testifying provides proof of identity for themselves and their detained relatives. Serikzhan Bilash, a prominent Kazakh activist and the owner of the channel, stated that this underscores the integrity of the channel.
The channel aims to be as accurate as possible because testimonies often face criticism from supporters of the Chinese Communist Party. Bilash claims that the CCP is looking for any excuse to deny what’s happening in the Xinjiang province.
Discussing the YouTube channel suspension, a YouTube representative told MIT Technology Review: “We have strict policies that prohibit harassment on YouTube, including doxing. We welcome responsible efforts to document important human rights cases around the world. We also have policies that do not allow channels to publish personally identifiable information, in order to prevent harassment.”
This is likely related to Atajurt’s display of identity documents, which were used to confirm the veracity of people’s testimonies. The MIT Technology Review sent a list of questions about the channel removal and YouTube’s content moderation policies, to which YouTube replied that “After thorough review of the context of the video,” it reinstated the channel “with a warning.”
A representative added: “We … are working closely with this organization so that they can remove Personally Identifiable Information from their videos to reinstate them.”
Breitbart News has reported extensively on YouTube’s willingness to censor content on its platform. Recently, Breitbart News reported that YouTube censored Reason, removing a video from the leading libertarian magazine reporting on biohackers working on DIY coronavirus vaccines.
Breitbart News reporter Allum Bokhari wrote:
The video, titled “Biohackers Are on a Secret Hunt for the Coronavirus Vaccine” was uploaded in March, and reports on biohackers, who work on biological projects outside of corporate and government-controlled labs.
According to Reason, YouTube informed them that the video had been removed for violating its “medical misinformation policy.”
The “medical misinformation” policy has been repeatedly used by YouTube to censor prominent conservatives. Former congressman and presidential candidate Ron Paul, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have all fallen victim to the draconian policy.
Read more at Breitbart News here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or contact via secure email at the address lucasnolan@protonmail.com
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