INTERFERENCE: YouTube Bans RSBN Day Before Trump Arraignment
April 4th, 2023 4:35 PM
Anti-free speech Big Tech platform YouTube slapped RSBN with a seven-day ban the day prior it was scheduled to cover former President Trump’s NYC arraignment.
The Right Side Broadcasting Network (RSBN) slammed YouTube for blocking the media outlet’s ability to live-stream its on-the-ground coverage of Trump’s Tuesday arraignment. With over 1.5 million YouTube followers, RSBN is one of the largest pro-Trump networks in the nation.
Trump appeared before a Manhattan courtroom and pleaded not guilty to 34 dubious felony charges related to alleged hush payments. The charges were filed by Soros-backed Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg who made prosecuting Donald Trump and his organizations a “number one issue” of his campaign in 2021.
RSBN will feature its live stream on its official website.
RSBN’s account was temporarily banned after reportedly violating YouTube’s “elections misinformation” policies, according to a statement the outlet shared on Twitter. “On Monday, RSBN said it received a notice from YouTube informing us that due to content violating their ‘elections misinformation’ policies, the platform has removed several videos. These include President Trump’s most recent rally in Waco, Texas, his remarks at CPAC, and our exclusive sit-down interview with him at Mar-a-Lago.”
In exclusive comments to MRC Free Speech America, RSBN editor-in-chief Grace Saldana decried the censorship:
RSBN is disappointed in YouTube’s continued censorship of conservative opinions that counter the left’s narrative. Despite the 7-day ban, we will not stop airing full, unedited coverage of President Donald Trump’s rallies and speeches. It’s important now more than ever to give a voice to his millions of supporters as political persecution continues.
This wouldn’t be the first time the anti-free speech YouTube platform muzzles RSBN. In May 2021, YouTube suspended RSBN for featuring Trump’s 2021 CPAC speech. Less than two months later, the platform removed the outlet’s live streams of Trump rallies, including an Ohio rally that gained over 3 million views. The suspension blocked RSBN from uploading any content for an entire week. Less than a year later YouTube again removed RSBN videos when it deleted RSBN’s 2022 CPAC interview with Trump and a separate interview with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA).
While YouTube, like other Big Tech giants, reinstated Trump’s official page last month, its assault against free speech is well documented. MRC Free Speech America reported that over 300 ads were removed from the Trump re-election campaign by YouTube and parent company Google in the summer of 2019 alone.
YouTube did not respond to MRC Free Speech America’s request for comment by the time of publication.