FL Governor Blasts YouTube Over Video Censorship

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis

After video of a meeting last month between Ron DeSantis and scientists was taken off YouTube because of COVID-19 misinformation, the Republican governor rounded up some of the same experts Monday for another roundtable.

It quickly turned into a stage for airing grievances about the power of social media and what they called the censoring of people arguing against lockdowns, school closures and mask-wearing, The Palm Beach Post reports.

“What we’re really witnessing is Orwellian,” DeSantis said. “It’s a Big Tech, corporate media collusion. And the end result is that the narrative is always right. Well, I don’t think that’s what the American people want.”

The YouTube take-down gave DeSantis, whose star is rising nationally in Republican politics, his second opportunity in as many weeks to turn his anger on major media.

Last week, the governor called a news conference where he lashed out for 20 minutes attempting to rebut a report aired on CBS’s "60 Minutes" that claimed Publix was favored with vaccine distribution after contributing to his political spending committee.

YouTube's action could further fuel the push for legislation endorsed by DeSantis that would give the state power to punish that company and others like Twitter, Facebook and Google with hefty fines for suspending or blocking users and candidates for political office.

The video of DeSantis’ roundtable discussion last month at the Florida Capitol was removed last week because it violated YouTube’s standards, the company said.  YouTube said the video included “content that contradicts the consensus of local and global health authorities regarding the efficacy of masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19.”

Some of the scientists Monday rejoined DeSantis remotely – and also blasted the removal of the earlier video.

DeSantis also used his latest roundtable to blast Major League Baseball for moving the All-Star game out of Atlanta because of Georgia’s new elections law, which has been criticized as aimed at reducing black voter participation. He said the actions of MLB and other large corporations, including Coca-Cola and Delta Airlines, critical of the Georgia legislation are hypocritical.