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YouTube suspends Sen. Rand Paul for seven days over mask video

In August 2021 YouTube removed a video from Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) claiming most masks do not work against COVID-19 and gave his channel a first strike. The strike blocked uploads for seven days. Paul called the suspension a 'badge of honor.'

Aug 11, 2021
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Whose side it served: Democrats

The strike penalized a leading Republican critic of the Biden administration's COVID mask policy.

What the record shows

ABC News reported YouTube cited lines including 'Most of the masks you get over the counter don't work.' A YouTube spokesperson said the video violated its COVID-19 misinformation rules, producing a first strike under its three-strikes system. The spokesperson said YouTube applies its policies 'regardless of speaker or political views.' Paul responded on Twitter that 'leftwing cretins at YouTube' had banned him for seven days over a video citing peer-reviewed research on cloth masks.

In their words

“regardless of speaker or political views”— YouTube spokesperson · source
The other side

YouTube said it enforced the same rule against all speakers; Paul and supporters noted that scientific debate over cloth-mask effectiveness was real and that public health guidance on masks shifted during the pandemic.

Sources

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