I haven’t been doing RedState LIVE long, but I pretty much suspected that it wouldn’t be long before YouTube got upset with something I said. It happened and RedState was sent a warning strike on their RedState YouTube channel.
According to the big tech video platform, I dealt out some “misinformation” about a sensitive topic, namely the 2020 presidential election. During the stream, I didn’t argue for or against its validity knowing that YouTube doesn’t want that kind of talk on its platform and openly punishes people for it, namely the “against it” variety.
But I was able say that questions and strangeities were still hanging around the system and that people need to be free to voice them and be honest about their concerns.
YouTube evidently saw this enough to issue a warning and delete that stream from their archives.
Don’t worry, you can still view it on Rumble where they allow open discussions and ideas to take place.
I appealed for the strike to be allowed, stating that my only concern was the inability to have any conversation about it. This didn’t move the folks at YouTube and they swiftly rejected my appeal. My appeal was rejected so quickly that I doubt they ever went back to review the video.
And to this I want to tell YouTube…thank you.
You are a great comedian and exposed the inflexibility and lunacy of the large tech bubble. We are grateful that you have shut down the idea of us being able to openly discuss our questions. Your despotism is a shame. This shows the terror you feel when there’s an open discussion of ideas.
Again, I want to make it clear that I didn’t make any definitive judgment on the election, just advocated that we be able to discuss the questions and oddities around it. This was sufficient to merit the hammer.
If your ideas are good then you’ll be happy to defend them in a friendly, good-faith debate or conversation. Perhaps you could make others see your way of thinking and explain something you may know that others don’t. Information exchange can change minds and help correct misconceptions.
But that’s not what’s going on. It’s just a full shutdown. If you’re silencing anyone from merely mentioning an idea you don’t like, then you must not have a lot of faith in your own idea. As Tyrion Lannister said in Game of Thrones: “When you tear out a man’s tongue, you are not proving him a liar, you’re only telling the world that you fear what he might say.”
The left likes to talk quite a bit about how they’re on the right side of history, but I don’t know many despots and dictators who shut down speech to be viewed kindly down the line. YouTube and big tech should consider this.
Last but not least, let me respond to a criticism I received when I introduced RSL! YouTube would stream the event. Many people asked why I didn’t want to stream to Rumble where a lot of this would be avoided in the first place.
Although there are many reasons, the simple answer is that I want my stream to be visible to more people. YouTube isn’t a good place for conservatism and libertarian views, although the overwhelming majority of users still use this platform. I’ll definitely find a friendlier and agreeable audience on Rumble, but that’s not what I’m necessarily after. I’m looking to build a community that attracts all kinds of people. I want them to be able to stumble upon my stream and start conversations or debates. At this time, they aren’t going to Rumble.
Whether through eventual choice or because I’m forced to, the chances that RSL will end up streaming from Rumble is high, but not yet and not now. Every RSL live stream can be viewed on Rumble after it’s done, but the live stream itself will, for now, be on YouTube, the second-highest trafficked video platform in the west (right behind TikTok).
If you don’t believe in that goal that’s fine. It’s fine to watch it on Rumble when the live stream ends. However, if you are a believer in my mission I will see you at RSL streaming every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, at 12 am est.
My full comments can be seen on Wednesday’s live stream on the RedState YouTube now. Tomorrow will see the Rumble upload.
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