Go for it. Call me a conspiracy theorist! Since a conspiracy is a secret plot, and theorizing is speculation, I openly accept the title. After 15 years of research and direct involvement, I firmly believe that YouTube and other big tech giants are increasingly removing our right to free speech.
Some of us probably aren't shocked that Google could be up to no good (despite their longtime motto Don't Be Evil). Most of my regular viewers will say "tell me something I didn't know".
But for others, mainly those we would call the mainstream (or less loving terms like sheep or zombies), the response ranges from skepticism to incredulity. Fair enough! It's a big claim, that many of the most powerful international corporations are working against us. And controlling the narrative, censoring opposing viewpoints, hiding inconvenient information? That's diabolical. With that kind of power, you could take over the world.
As Carl Sagan famously said, extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. The following supports my theory that YouTube is conspiring to censor free speech:
Today, YouTube announced an immediate ban on "content that targets an individual or a group using conspiracy theories, such as ___ or ___, that have been used to justify ___".
The blanks are pizzagate, Qanon, and violence. I separated them from YouTube's statement so we could see it without those charged examples, put there to distract from the core of the issue. The ban is on ALL theories which "target" someone.
(Why the word "target"? Does that make those responsible for the conspiracy (the conspirators) into victims requiring protection? Where have we seen that tactic used before?)
As for "individuals or a group", that literally includes every possible subject of a theory. Can you think of anyone that doesn't qualify either as an individual or a group?
And "that have been used to justify violence" means nothing, since everything can be used to justify violence. Even love has been used to justify violence. That qualifier is only there to make the accusation sound scarier. Oooh, violence. But it has no legal meaning and should be ignored.
In other words, the ban is on ALL conspiracy theories. Full stop.
One example given is the belief in "a cabal of child-sex predators that includes prominent Democrats, Hollywood elites and the deep state". It's so serious, it prompted the FBI to label believers "potential domestic terrorists".
For years, these accusations were ignored. Now that isn't working as well, the accusers (those theorizing about the conspiracy) are labeled terrorists, so they can be silenced.
What sort of precedent does this set? If conspiracies are not allowed to be discussed, won't conspirators essentially have free reign? Isn't investigating and trying to do something about people conspiring against us basically our only defense?
Catch 22
If this content appeared in a YouTube video (or comment), it would be removed, possibly along with my account.
In other words, censorship continues to get worse and worse, and anyone who talks about it gets censored.
Either YouTube is censoring free speech, or it just reeeally appears that way. Which do you think it is?
They have abundant motive and opportunity. They also have a long history of being accused of censorship, and denying it until they came out publicly in 2018 admitting they shadowban content they find objectionable. Now they've announced they're censoring ALL conspiracy theories.
My theory is that YouTube/Google conspires to censor certain ideas and information from their platform. Together with FaceBook, Twitter, and the other big tech sites, they have almost brought about a world where free speech is outright forbidden as "hate" or terrorism.
Over 14 years and 800 videos, I've tried my best to warn my 9000 YouTube subscribers this was coming. From now on, I'll have to be silent about it if I want to keep my account there.
DRutter
