Hispanic Dem lawmakers meet with YouTube CEO to double down on CENSORING misinformation in Spanish

05/03/2022 / By Ramon Tomey

A group of Hispanic lawmakers met with YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki to discuss further plans to censor Spanish-language misinformation.

Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) met with the head of the video sharing site on April 28 to discuss “the urgency of addressing Spanish-language dis/misinformation, content moderation and YouTube’s initiatives and policies” centering on the issue. Established in 1976, the CHC seeks to tackle issues affecting Hispanics in the mainland U.S. and its territories, including Puerto Rico.

Sen. Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), who chairs the Senate Subcommittee on Communications, Media and Broadband, shared what had transpired during the CHC’s April 28 meeting with the Big Tech platform.

“Wojcicki committed to releasing core internal accountability metrics at YouTube, including their violative view rate, for Spanish-language content. That’s a good start,” he said. Lujan stressed that as a global platform, Alphabet-owned YouTube has “a responsibility to ensure everyone is safe from harmful and hateful content, regardless of the language they speak at home.”

Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-NM) added that she and the other CHC lawmakers “pushed the CEO and asked her to provide data [showing] that Spanish-language disinformation is taken down as quickly as English-language disinformation.” Fernandez, who is the CHC’s vice chair of communications, added that the caucus “will continue to call on the Federal Communications Commission to build much-needed infrastructure to monitor Spanish-language media.”

Rep. Raul Ruiz (D-CA), the CHC chairman, expressed appreciation toward Wojcicki for meeting with other lawmakers. “Lies cost lives, and the CHC continues to call for strengthened oversight and to push social media companies to bolster their infrastructure to combat dis/misinformation on their platforms. Addressing the rampant spread of Spanish-language dis/misinformation remains an urgent priority for the CHC as Hispanics across the country increasingly turn to social media for vital information,” he said.

Meanwhile, Rep. Darren Soto (D-FL) lauded the “extremely productive” meeting between YouTube and the CHC. He added that he hopes to see the video-sharing platform “use ample resources” against content deemed as disinformation and/or misinformation.

“With more and more people turning to social media to receive information, we must ensure that content is reviewed thoroughly before reaching mass audiences. As more and more bad actors purposely aim to spread lies to vulnerable populations, platforms like YouTube have a responsibility to prevent them from having the power to influence public opinion,” said Soto.

Censorship only applies to content that goes against the government narrative

It appears, however, that the censorship espoused by the CHC during its meeting with Wojcicki would only apply to content that goes against the government narrative. This overarching suppression not only applies to regular Americans, but also to elected officials.

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) is one such individual who found himself experiencing first-hand the censorship YouTube is standing by. Back in June 2021, the Republican lawmaker was slapped with a seven-day ban for posting about Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) treatments – hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) in particular. (Related: SUPPRESSING THE CURES: YouTube suspends Sen. Ron Johnson for uploading videos about hydroxychloroquine.)

Johnson’s video that caused his seven-day ban criticized federal officials for discouraging the use of HCQ and suppressing information about its benefits when used to treat COVID-19. “It always baffled me that there was such a concerted effort to deny the American public the type of robust exploration research into early treatment early in this pandemic,” he said, adding that both HCQ and ivermectin are effective in treating COVID-19 yet are “incredibly safe.”

A YouTube spokesperson explained: “We removed [Johnson’s] video in accordance with our COVID-19 medical misinformation policies, which don’t allow content that encourages people to use HCQ or ivermectin to treat or prevent the virus.”

The ban did not sit well with the GOP lawmaker, who said in a statement that YouTube and other Big Tech firms have “accumulated too much unaccountable power.”

“Big Tech and mainstream media believe they are smarter than medical doctors who have devoted their lives to science and use their skills to save lives. They have decided there is only one medical viewpoint allowed, and it is the viewpoint dictated by government agencies. How many lives will be lost as a result? How many lives could have been saved with a free exchange of medical ideas?”

YoutubeCensorship.com has more stories about the Big Tech video sharing platform’s censorship activities.

Watch this video below that talks about who really is behind YouTube’s censorship.

This video is from the high impact Flix and more!!! channel on Brighteon.com.