Update 7th March 09:14: As of just this moment, it seems that the main PMW channel (here) has been re-instated. The big question for Google now is how does this kind of thing happen and what steps will they put in place to stop it happening again?
Original post:
In what has become a common occurrence, Palestine Media Watch (PMW), who point out hate speech on line, has been taken down by YouTube again. This has happened before in 2010 (Emergency! Palestine Media Watch YouTube Channel Censored!). Here’s their statement today:
Dear PMW subscribers,
Following Palestinian Media Watch‘s release of a video on Thursday in which a Palestinian girl read a poem on official PA TV calling for “war that will smash the oppressor and destroy the Zionist’s soul,” YouTube “terminated” PMW’s account for violating their “terms of service,” which includes hate speech. The terminated account contains nearly all of PMW’s videos.
We urge anyone with contacts at Google or YouTube to contact them and request that PMW’s account be reinstated. Others can send a message to YouTube by clicking the “Send feedback” link at the bottom of YouTube’s homepage. [FULL STATEMENT HERE]
This the direct link to the terminated account:
https://www.youtube.com/user/palwatch
This comes as the web is also full of news that Twitter is banning people who report ISIS accounts but leaving the ISIS accounts open! Obviously I’ve had my own problems with both YouTube and Facebook censorship recently.
Update 7 March: there’s a Change.org petition to sign if you want to.
Just to add another element to this, in 2007 then Senator Hillary Clinton stood up forcefully for PMW:
Senator Hillary Clinton:
Good morning everyone, and thank you very much for being here.
It is my privilege once again to join Palestinian Media Watch for this press conference, and for the latest report that they have compiled about the Palestinian textbooks.
Director Itamar Marcus, who has been a steadfast leader, has helped to deliver this message which we repeat again today – we must stop the propaganda to which Palestinian children are being exposed. That must be a priority for all people who care about children, who care about the kind of peace, stability, safety and security that Israel deserves to be guaranteed. And it should be a priority for everyone who cares about the future of the Palestinian people. I’m also pleased that with us today is Associate Director Barbara Crook, with whom I have also met in the past to discuss these issues.
This case is especially serious as it is the entire removal of a channel: years of work not just a single video. It’s shocking that PMW, supported by Hillary Clinton, is the organisation that Google and YouTube take off the web. Once again, just as I asked about my own video that was wrongfully removed, we need to know:
The bit I’d like to know, and I don’t know anyone at YouTube who can tell me, is whether all those accounts who spuriously reported me are then penalised. Clearly this is a coordinated attack. Does it carry consequences for the other side? Are they able to use the same accounts over and over to report more spurious “hate” speech that is just truth they don’t like?
This is my question for YouTube: does spurious reporting carry consequences for the other side?