After Project Veritas released an investigative report showing that Pinterest maintains secret internal blacklists and blocklists, Twitter temporarily disabled Project Veritas's account. Now YouTube is censoring Project Veritas and has removed the video report from the Project Veritas YouTube channel.
YouTube says it received a privacy complaint about a section of the video around 03:40 and took the video down.
Tech giants retaliating against insider who leaked docs showing censorship of christian and pro-life material. They have REMOVED our investigative insider report. @YouTube now fighting bullet-proof journalism by deleting it. Video still on our website: https://t.co/e45KJp6BsO pic.twitter.com/mwldXVwjVV
— James O'Keefe (@JamesOKeefeIII) June 12, 2019
They cited a privacy complaint. Which we categorically deny. If using people's names and faces in an investigative report warrants a "privacy complaint," we fear the future of journalism in this country. @YouTube needs to look up journalism in the dictionary. pic.twitter.com/sxU8yffCa7
— Project Veritas (@Project_Veritas) June 12, 2019
The section of the video YouTube is referring to shows the name and photo of a Pinterest staff member who is featured in the leaked documents that make up part of the Project Veritas report.
However, as Project Veritas notes, using people's names and faces in a report is a core part of investigative journalism. If YouTube were to enforce this standard consistently, very little investigative journalism would be allowed to remain on its platform.
While the video has been removed from YouTube, it's still available on the Project Veritas website and BitChute.
This is the latest example of big tech censorship Project Veritas and those featured in the investigative report have experienced since it went live. One of the key revelations in the report is that Pinterest maintains internal blocklists and that one of the sites on those blocklists is the pro-life advocacy group Live Action.
When the report was released, Pinterest banned Live Action from its platform for supposedly spreading “misinformation,” despite providing no evidence of this claim. Then Twitter temporarily limited Project Veritas's account for supposedly violating its rules around posting private information.
Censorship isn't the only action these tech giants have taken since Project Veritas released its report. Pinterest also fired the employee who gave the leaked documents to Project Veritas.
The head of Project Veritas CEO James O'Keefe responded to YouTube's censorship by saying “this is the biggest mistake of their lives” and that established media and technology are resorting to censorship because they're afraid of investigative journalism.
This is the biggest mistake of their lives. pic.twitter.com/GoOwOn1RvV
— James O'Keefe (@JamesOKeefeIII) June 12, 2019
The established media and technology are so afraid of investigative journalism they need to censor it. YouTube calls REPORTING on someone by showing their face and name, and how they added a pro-life group to a porn blacklist, a "privacy complaint." Would they do this to NYT?
— James O'Keefe (@JamesOKeefeIII) June 12, 2019
The censorship of this Project Veritas report is being widely criticized with people suggesting it's another example of big tech bias and Silicon Valley giants protecting each other.
A Silicon Valley giant protects another Silicon Valley giant from outside scrutiny. Big tech is a cartel!https://t.co/Gp6KJFMAHW
— china lied people died (@LibertarianBlue) June 12, 2019
Wow this is insane. Stop Tech Bias Now!!! https://t.co/ff4CWC7pOM
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) June 12, 2019
YouTube is now just straight up removing investigative journalism. A new low. https://t.co/6wlFtyl7Ev
— Paul Joseph Watson (@PrisonPlanet) June 12, 2019
