Queen Nwabueze
Just a week after Billy Long, a Republican Missouri Congressman released a Senate campaign ad claiming the 2020 US presidential election was rigged, YouTube has removed the video for violating its guidelines.
The ad reportedly, featured Long citing his early support of Donald Trump’s successful 2016 presidential bid.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelIn case you missed it, Federal and state election officials and Trump’s own attorney general had said there was no credible evidence the election was tainted. The former president’s allegations of fraud were also roundly rejected by courts, including by judges Trump appointed.
But this has not really done much as rhetoric from the Grand Old Party still whines about it, defining issues in several Republican Senate primary campaigns, including in Ohio and Arizona.
With the latest development, Long has become the latest Republican who has ‘fought’ with YouTube.
Representing a southwestern Missouri district, Long is among several candidates seeking the party’s nomination in 2022 for the seat which was vacated by Senator Roy Blunt, the man who refused to seek a third term.
Recall that two lawmakers from the Grand Old Party had their accounts suspended last year over comments they made on COVID-19.
In June, YouTube suspended Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin after he posted comments about alternative therapies. The Wisconsin Republican then accused YouTube of “COVID censorship.”
In August, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky was suspended for a week for a posting that said cloth masks don’t prevent infection. He responded by calling YouTube’s decision a “badge of honor” in a Tweet.
The Senate-to-be had responded, accusing YouTube and other tech companies of censoring only candidates and public figures of GOP.
“I am not alone in getting canceled by YouTube,” Long said in a news release. “There has been a deliberate, orchestrated effort by Big Tech to silence those who have views that do not align with their liberal-leaning agenda. Just look at what Twitter did to President Trump. He is still banned from communicating directly to the American people on its platform.”
In a statement, YouTube spokeswoman, Ivy Choi has explained the video platform actually means no harm for the conservative party. She explained the Youtube only prohibits “content uploaded after official election results were certified advancing false claims that widespread fraud, errors, or glitches changed the outcome of the 2020 U.S. presidential election.”
