Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul was suspended from YouTube for seven days after posting a video arguing that “cloth masks” are not effective against the coronavirus, Forbes reported Tuesday.
Paul’s suspension began Monday, almost a week after he posted a video in which he claimed that “cloth masks don’t work” and most store-bought masks “don’t prevent infection,” according to Forbes. The video has since been taken down. YouTube stated that it violated the site’s COVID-19 misinformation rules, which prohibit users from arguing that masks don’t work, Forbes reported. (RELATED: Rand Paul Calls On Citizens To ‘Resist’ Mask Mandates And Lockdowns)
“I think this kind of censorship is very dangerous, incredibly anti-free speech, and truly anti-progress of science, which involves skepticism and argumentation to arrive at the truth,” Paul said Tuesday in a press release, according to Forbes.
A badge of honor . . . leftwing cretins at Youtube banning me for 7 days for a video that quotes 2 peer reviewed articles saying cloth masks don’t work.
If you want to see the banned video go to Liberty Tree https://t.co/gsTUwuLZGL
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) August 10, 2021
Paul responded to his suspension in a video message titled “It Is Time For Unfiltered News.” “Censorship by YouTube is very dangerous as it stifles debate and promotes groupthink where the ‘truth’ is defined by people with a political agenda,” said Paul. This video was also removed by YouTube for violating its Community Guidelines, the Daily Wire reported.
“As a libertarian-leaning Senator, I think private companies have the right to ban me if they want to, but I think it is really anti-free speech, anti-progress of science, which involves skepticism and argumentation to arrive at the truth,” said Paul during a press call, according to the Daily Wire. “We realize this in our court systems that both sides present facts on either side of a question and complete an adversarial process to reach the truth in each case.”
Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene was temporarily suspended from Twitter after she claimed that masks and vaccines are ineffective. A Twitter spokesperson said that Greene had violated the site’s COVID-19 misinformation policy.