YouTube owner Google has demonetized news outlet The Epoch Times.
A Youtube spokesperson said:
“We have demonetized The Epoch Times’ YouTube channel and affiliated channels and suspended them from the YouTube Partner Program. All channels on YouTube need to comply with our Community Guidelines and in order to monetize, channels must comply with the YouTube Partner Program policies, which include our Advertiser-Friendly Guidelines. Channels that repeatedly violate these policies are suspended from our partner program.”
However, YouTube was not specific about the content on Epoch Times that violated its policies.
According to Stephen Gregory, a publisher at The Epoch Times, the move by YouTube and Google is “the latest example of Big Tech suppression of free speech, a step on the road to communist-style censorship.”
The Epoch Times is an international news outlet, whose print newspaper is available in several major cities worldwide. The outlet has been maligned for its mostly-favorable coverage of former President Donald Trump and other populist leaders around the globe.
However, the news outlet’s most clear editorial position is its criticism of communism, especially the Communist Party of China.
