YouTube
Content Removed
GovernmentYouTube continued its policy of purging any mention of Eric Ciaramella by removing a video of Sen. Rand Paul saying the name in a speech on the Senate floor. In the video, Sen. Paul reads the following question of his which was blocked during the impeachment trial:
Are you aware that House intelligence committee staffer Shawn Misko had a close relationship with Eric Ciaramella while at the National Security Council together and are you aware and how do you respond to reports that Ciaramella and Misko may have worked together to plot impeaching the President before there were formal house impeachment proceedings.
YouTube spokesperson Ivy Choi gave the following statement to news outlets:
Videos, comments, and other forms of content that mention the leaked whistleblower’s name violate YouTube’s Community Guidelines and will be removed from YouTube. We’ve removed hundreds of videos and over ten thousand comments that contained the name. Video uploaders have the option to edit their videos to exclude the name and reupload.
Sen. Paul responded in the following tweet:
A chilling and disturbing day in America when giant web companies such as @YouTube decide to censor speech. Protected speech, such as that of a senator on the Sen floor, can be blocked from getting to the people. This is dangerous & politically biased. https://archive.vn/eSnM5
– Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) 13 Feb 2020