The YouTube ban is un-American, wrong, and will backfire

The very same people complaining about this also complained when platforms did exactly what you suggested. Even attempting to "fact check" is considered censorship.

But this is also about the practice of ideals. I watched a Chris Martinson video (PhD neurotoxicology, runs something of a prepping channel on YouTube because he doesn't see how the current US approach will resolve comfortably for people who trust the government) on Vimeo the other day because they'd yanked it from YouTube (it discussed the coronavirus). If it has reached the point where YouTube won't let a medical PhD talk about medical research, what use is this platform to me? Music videos, I suppose.

The reason free speech is ideal happens to be because it is better - YouTube is less fit for purpose as an information distributor, it doesn't represent a full spectrum of opinions. I already know what the official government message is - they have a website. I read it on occasion.

From day 1 of this election, the media has 50% of this country convinced that everything Trump's lawsuits are nothing except outlandish lies & conspiracies. Judges included.

But it started many years ago.

The media lies, spins, and omits. They do not report. Yet this is the information most people rely on.

There is an incredible amount of bias in the media against Trump. People who say otherwise are likely enured to it because its been this way for many years. The media has always been biased but it's been taken to a whole new level over the past 4 years.

When people dismiss Trump's lawsuits, it's done with absolute prejudice. Judges included. "Conspiracy theory". "Baseless accusations". Such words can be found in mainstream media all over the place.

Say what you want about Trump as a person, but many of the legal complaints are legitimate (not all). .The only claims that the media airs are the clearly outlandish ones (of which there are a few.)

Many of the claims are valid and are significant. Election laws have been ignored - on a large scale. One can speculate that the laws were broken with the intent to elect Biden, but its very difficult to prove intent.

But it's not very difficult to prove that election laws were broken. There is quite a lot of evidence. Hundreds of affidavits/testimonies of evidence. Is it enough to turn the election? It's a legitimate question with a legitimate basis.

Most judges have elected to casually dismiss these affidavits. Many of their judgements are loaded with clearly biased partisan editorialization. Noone calls them on their partisan BS. Yes, Republican appointed judges have dismissed cases. This does not make it OK for partisan judges to dismiss cases for partisan reasons.

And Trump hasn't lost 50 lawsuits. It's closer to 5-6. I'm sure random people have filed lawsuits and lost their cases, but these are not cases that Trump's campaign filed, promoted, or even discussed.

When I have tried to very specifically point out in great detail how the judges have effectively ignored dozens of affidavits, I have been called names, dismissed, and downvoted.

When I have tried to very specifically point out the legitimacy of some of the claims that Trump's legal team have made, I have been called names, dismissed, and downvoted.

I expect I will be downvoted and ridiculed on this post as well.

But this is what's wrong with America. It's impossible to have a substantive discussion on any topic related to Trump, and it's been that way for 4 years.

In recent years the media has focused their weapons of censor against Trump. Tomorrow it could be Bernie Sanders. And I would be defending his right to be heard as vigorously as I am now.

I understand a lot of people do not want Trump to win. But to dismiss his claims as baseless and wild speculation is doing a disservice to the truth. Regardless of what you think of him as a person, the truth should still be important.

Ok, I am done ranting. You can start the ridicule/downvoting. If anyone is legitimately interested in hearing the facts I base my opinions on, look at any of my previous posts. Reply constructively and I will return the courtesy. My posts are available here: https://news.ycombinator.com/threads?id=prucomaclu

I am posting under a new account as the old one is effectively bricked due to negative karma rate-limits. ("Good! Because you deserve it!" I expect I will hear). If I have broken HN rules by doing so please accept my apologies.

People need to realize that ANY website where a user submits content for is not classified as free speech. A tweet isn’t free speech. A post on Reddit isn’t free speech. These are “articles and or content provided by the public for enhancements to our platform” or whatever EULA legalese they use.

Yeah, like I said, banning a bunch of videos from one genre right now looks bad and people have a right to be upset over it. It’s still YouTube’s legal right to choose which content they want to showcase on their platform.

They hold all the power here. Content creators are at their mercy as far as compensation, views, inclusion in the recommendation engine, etc. then cry foul when the company moves in another direction. Down-leg economics. Specialized businesses based on a supply of value from another business. It’s not a sustainable model for anyone on the 3rd rung.