Neutral video sharing platform Rumble is taking a stand against the recent government and media pressure it has faced by launching a #SupportFreeSpeech campaign via its membership platform Locals.
“It’s our creators who bring us the truth,” Rumble said in a statement announcing the campaign. “It’s our creators that make Rumble strong. It’s our creators who need your support.”
Rumble also addressed the recent government and media pressure it has faced for standing by its principle of neutrality:
“Rumble has been under relentless attack from governments and the mainstream media on various fronts. What they fail to understand is that every attack only emboldens our community and makes us stronger.”
The recent pressure Rumble has faced stems from its decision to maintain a neutral stance on comedian Russell Brand after he faced anonymous sexual assault allegations, which he has denied.
Several companies dropped Brand’s content from their platforms after the allegations were made, and Google-owned YouTube demonetized Brand, despite him having no content violations on the platform and the alleged incidents having nothing to do with his YouTube content.
Following YouTube’s decision, the head of a UK Parliamentary Committee pressured Rumble to demonetize Brand and even questioned what Rumble was doing to prevent other creators from engaging in “inappropriate” behavior.
Rumble was one of the only platforms to push back against the attempts to cancel Brand based on these allegations and rejected the pressure to demonetize him.
The neutral video sharing platform’s CEO, Chris Pavlovski, acknowledged that “both alleged victims and the accused are entitled to a full and serious investigation” but noted the allegations “have nothing to do with content on Rumble’s platform” and reiterated the importance of “defending a free internet…where no one arbitrarily dictates which ideas can or cannot be heard.”
After standing up for neutrality and due process, Rumble was hit with another wave of pressure from media outlets and some of the architects of an online censorship law. Several companies also pulled their ads from Rumble after it took a neutral stance on Brand.
But Rumble is staying true to its principles amid the pressure by launching this #SupportFreeSpeech campaign.
As part of the campaign, Rumble is offering all creators a #SupportFreeSpeech promo code that gives viewers one month of free access to their Locals community. Creators can contact their Rumble/Locals rep to enable the promo code.
“Every attack only emboldens our community and makes us stronger,” Rumble said. “Rumble was built for pressure and built for these types of moments. Our infrastructure, our ad system, and most importantly, our staff has never been more prepared and ready for whatever comes at us.”
