SoundCloud has permanently banned journalist Andy Ngo’s podcast, “Things You Should Ngo,” citing violations of the company’s terms of use and community guidelines.
This latest case of deplatforming by an online platform has some hallmark of censorship carried out by SoundCloud’s bigger counterparts: no details were given regarding what rules were allegedly broken.
But SoundCloud went a step further by not even providing a formal possibility of appeal – and the account was banned now despite the fact Ngo had not uploaded a new podcast episode there in over a year.
SoundCloud’s notification about the permanent ban only cited general ToS and guidelines rules that prohibit behavior classified as abusive, defamatory, inciting to violence or hatred based on race, religion, gender, etc., but stopped short of specifying which of these Ngo was “found guilty” of.
What is certain is that the account, its content, and features like stats are gone with a permanent ban. The journalist, who says his podcast explores heterodox ideas and stories, had figures like radio host Lars Larson, conservative columnist Michelle Malkin, and author Douglas Murray as his guests, reports are now saying.
Dr. Jordan Peterson and commentator Dave Rubin have been among those Ngo has spoken with and given a platform over the years.
Antifa-related controversies may have been what made SoundCloud suddenly pay attention to the podcast and decide to deplatform him now. Recently, Mumford & Sons guitarist Winston Marshall quit the band after outraged Antifa supporters came after him for congratulating Ngo on his best-selling book, Unmasked: Inside Antifa’s Radical Plan to Destroy Democracy, and referring to the journalist as “a brave man.”
Marshall said that he chose to leave in order to be able to speak freely without putting other members of the band in harm’s way, and criticized cancel culture.
