Ever since the coronavirus became one of the world’s top news stories, big tech platforms have been punishing independent creators when they cover the virus while boosting coronavirus information from “authoritative sources” and health organizations.
And now The Coronavirus Song, a parody song about the virus which was created by YouTuber Rusty Cage and features the YouTubers Nerd City and Nicky Locklear, has been removed from TikTok.
The song was uploaded to YouTube, Twitter, TikTok, and BitChute yesterday.
Shortly after being uploaded, both YouTube and TikTok removed the song.
https://twitter.com/realrustycage/status/1237475272347115520
YouTube claimed that the video violated its policies around “violent or dangerous acts that have an inherent risk of serious physical harm or death” while TikTok cited general community guidelines violations.
After Rusty Cage appealed, the video was reinstated on YouTube but the TikTok version is still down.
https://twitter.com/realrustycage/status/1237467730036604932
https://twitter.com/realrustycage/status/1237523652687458304
The takedown of the video is reflective of the difficulties big tech’s coronavirus rules are causing for creators.
On YouTube, creators that simply mention the coronavirus are demonetized – a policy that essentially prohibits them from mentioning one of the biggest news stories of 2020 if they want to earn ad revenue on their content.
And now it appears that providing a satirical take on the story could also result in creators having their content censored by big tech.
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