Kirsten Powers’ Humorous Take on Censoring Republicans

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YouTube, which had previously removed tens of thousands of videos it deemed “misinformation” about the 2020 elections results, is now changing its tune.

In an unsigned post on Friday, the Google-owned service tried to explain the situation in this way: “In this current environment, while removing these content curbs some misinformation it could also curtail political speech without meaningfully decreasing the risk of violence and other real-world damage.”

YouTube added, “As we do with all updates to our policies, this change was carefully considered.”

The company has written:

The ability to debate openly political ideas is essential to a democratic society, especially during election season.

Well-said. Now. It was true also for the whole time they removed videos in the past three years. Now they want to apologize to people and pretend that they care about freedom of speech. Sorry if you don’t think it. They chose a side, and they cannot change it.

Even after this change, there’s still some room for maneuvering.

…. YouTube said that its other election misinformation policy remains in place. These include those that prohibit false claims “aimed at misguiding voters about the time or place of voting, the means by which voting is conducted, or the eligibility requirements to vote” as well those that discourage voting “materially, such as those contesting the validity” of voting via mail and videos that encourage others to interfere with democratic processes.

Lower explained that they also said you’ll be able to see authoritative sources prominently featured. This sounds like a place where they might also make political decisions.

Why are they suddenly doing this? Twitter’s positive influence is a part of the reason. It’s a way to stop the bleeding, as people are fleeing control and moving to Elon Musk’s platform.

Several political podcasts and shows have announced that they will upload their content to Twitter, either in addition to or instead of YouTube. This move may be an attempt to stop the bleeding.

This is a good thing for freedom of speech.

CNN’s Kirsten Powers could not seem to handle it.

“So, if it’s a problem that people won’t be able to upload things Republicans say, maybe Republicans should stop saying them, right?” Powers asked, “Is this not the solution?”

Kirsten, you are a stout opponent of Republican censorship. People who worry about being censored need to just stop talking. If you don’t upload their comments, they will stop talking and we only get the narrative we want to hear. CNN asks Chris Licht why he is having such a hard time turning CNN into a credible channel when his hosts are saying these things. Perhaps such episodes are the reason the network is still in a state of meltdown and Licht’s job is being questioned.

Powers tried to make amends for what she said but didn’t do much herself.

I’m not sure that we want to silence political expression. This company has responsibility. It’s not an infringement of freedom of speech to say “We won’t allow you to upload any information that is demonstrably wrong.”

Kirsten, who decides what’s “false?” It’s always dangerous to try to police speech when you move from being a platform and only a place to express yourself.

Why were the 2020 questions from Republicans censored but all of the Democrats who argued against election denialism during 2016 weren’t? It’s probably because liberal media didn’t have a problem with this kind of speech by Democrats.

Steve Guest, the Special Advisor for Communications at Sen. Ted Cruz, responded to Powers’ comments with a funny response — a reminder of Powers’ past, when she was more sensible.

She should re-read her book and get back in touch with reality.

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