Our efforts to expose the bigoted view and dangerous conspiracy theories spread by right-wing activists has now resulted in @YouTube banning our channel and removing thousands of our videos. We attempted to appeal this decision, and YouTube rejected it. pic.twitter.com/74Rfi31uQe

— Right Wing Watch (@RightWingWatch) June 28, 2021

This hits a raw nerve, as Jack and I are both very familiar with YouTube’s dumbassery and inability to understand the distinction between reporting on and exposing hateful/propagandistic MAGA garbage and propagating it, each of us having our channels that we use for for National Zero suspended at least once for content violations (mine was a video of Trump talking to reporters in January) so we feel Right Wing Watch’s pain. This is obviously worse for them, having a dedicated channel with more than 60,000 subscribers and thousands of videos documenting more than a decade of right wing extremism, whereas Jack and I use YouTube solely for embeds here on National Zero. YouTube needs to get their shit together and be answerable to these appeals.

That being said, if this kind of collateral damage is the cost of effective moderation against fascist and racist conspiracy bullshit on YouTube and elsewhere then I believe it’s ultimately worth paying. I’d rather have to start a new National Zero channel every now and then to host my videos than have QAnon and anti-vaxx bullshit polluting YouTube and radicalizing people every day.

UPDATE 7:15 PM EDT 6/28/21: Right Wing Watch reports YouTube lifted the ban and restored their channel Monday afternoon following a social media outcry. “I strongly suspect Right Wing Watch was targeted in a mass reporting effort by far right groups, and whoever handled this at YouTube was either absurdly clueless, or complicit” said some guitarist/activist dude Charles Johnson on Twitter, which is probably correct given RWW has undoubtedly made themselves quite a few enemies over the the years. Miserable, vengeful enemies at that.