YouTube Suspends Ron Johnson Over Hydroxychloroquine Claims
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) has been suspended from YouTube for seven days after he posted content promoting experimental treatments for COVID-19.
The senator led two Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs hearings on the potential benefits of hydroxychloroquine and Ivermectin.
Johnson slammed the decision, saying it was just another example of Big Tech censorship.
"YouTube's ongoing COVID censorship proves they have accumulated too much unaccountable power," he told Fox News.
"Big Tech and mainstream media believe they are smarter than medical doctors who have devoted their lives to science and use their skills to save lives," he added. "They have decided there is only one medical viewpoint allowed, and it is the viewpoint dictated by government agencies. How many lives will be lost as a result? How many lives could have been saved with a free exchange of medical ideas?”
Johnson said information about the treatments should be readily available to the American public.
"It always baffled me that there was such a concerted effort to deny the American public the type of robust exploration research into early treatment early in this pandemic," he concluded.
Last year, a video promoted by former President Trump that detailed the potential benefits of hydroxychloroquine was removed from YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter for “misinformation.”
"Tweets with the video are in violation of our Covid-19 misinformation policy. We are taking action in line with our policy here," Twitter told BBC News at the time.
Facebook concurred, adding that the platform removed the video for “sharing false information about cures and treatments for Covid-19.”