Sen. Rand Paul announced in a press release yesterday that he’d be leaving YouTube for a new video platform, Rumble, citing censorship.
“Today I begin my exodus from Big Tech, starting with the worst censor of all, YouTube,” he said. “As a libertarian leaning Senator, I think private companies have the right to ban me if they want to, however, those of us who believe that truth comes from disputation and that the marketplace of ideas is a prerequisite for innovation should shun the close-minded censors and take our ideas elsewhere, which is exactly what I’m doing.”
Paul received a 7-day ban from YouTube in August for spreading misinformation about COVID.
Paul said he’d post on YouTube as needed “to criticize the platform or announce that viewers can see his content on Rumble.com.”
Paul’s press release said that YouTube had acted “in lockstep with government and ban[ned] videos posted by Dr. Paul that dared to contradict the government’s position” on various issues related to COVID-19 mitigation and prevention, including cloth masks. Paul is also an outspoken critic of Dr. Anthony Fauci.
Paul’s YouTube channel currently has close to 200 videos, including a video announcing that he’d be leaving the platform, and has amassed more than 21 million views total.
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