(LifeSiteNews) — Google-owned video platform YouTube continues to censor conservatives who dissent from gender ideology, with Daily Wire commentators continuing to face punishments by the Big Tech company.
Most recently conservative Catholic commentator Michael Knowles and his fellow Daily Wire host Candace Owens both received a seven-day ban by YouTube for criticism of gender ideology. However, the censorship is part of a broader trend of targeting Daily Wire hosts. For example, Matt Walsh stopped posting his daily show on YouTube in April after the platform threatened to ban him for not using “preferred pronouns” for gender-confused individuals. His account had already been demonetized, which meant he could not make money from YouTube ads.
Owens said she believes the ban on her channel is due to criticism of gender ideology, stating that YouTube purposefully keeps it policies vague. “If you properly gender someone, you can have your account hit,” Owens said on her show Monday.
On Twitter, she discussed the broader push for censorship of the truth.
“We don’t know exactly what or who is the driving force behind globally-sanctioned lies, but what we do know is that over the past five years, the prevailing lies of the day have shifted dramatically,” she said.
Owens added that she will not be pushed around by YouTube. “Today, the new and perhaps most insidious globally agreed upon lie is that individuals can choose or magically switch their genders,” she said. “Why is this lie the most insidious? Other than its frightful illumination of western idiocy, it’s the most insidious because it targets children, specifically. If it needs reminding, there exists no world and certainly no cultural moment in which I become a buck that can be broken.”
Owens said she will not “submit” to these lies.
‼️It’s true, my YouTube account has been suspended and here is what I have to say:
We don’t know exactly what or who is the driving force behind globally-sanctioned lies, but what we do know is that over the past five years, the prevailing lies of the day have shifted… https://t.co/1TqAyM717O
— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) June 11, 2023
Knowles announced he was already on YouTube’s radars because he questioned the integrity of some parts of the 2020 election.
“I’m banned from YouTube for a week after my 2nd strike – this for not believing in transgenderism,” Knowles wrote on Twitter on June 11. “It’s my 2nd [because] I have a lifetime warning for doubting aspects of the 2020 election, which YT just announced is now allowed. But it wasn’t when I did it when it mattered, so the warning holds, so disbelief in trans is my 2nd strike, so I’m banned.”
1/14 Over the last few months, @realDailyWire has received ~200 violations from @YouTube across our accounts for @MattWalshBlog, @benshapiro, @RealCandaceO, @michaeljknowles, @jordanbpeterson, @andrewklavan, and @imbrettcooper. Almost all are over coverage of the trans debate. 🧵
— Jeremy Boreing (@JeremyDBoreing) June 11, 2023
“In the last 90 days, our accounts have received 104 violations for ‘Hateful and Derogatory’ content, earning them ‘limited monetization,'” Boreing said. “Again, nearly every one of these violations comes from our coverage of the trans debate.”
He criticized YouTube for its hypocrisy on the issue, saying that the company “claims they want to be a place where we can debate this issue, but virtually every time we discuss it we receive these violations.”
He noted that the Big Tech platform “claims ‘the ability to openly debate political ideas, even those that are controversial’ is ‘core to a functioning democratic society,'” but clearly it does not live up to that promise.
Boreing challenged YouTube: “Will you honor your commitment to allow for open debate on this controversial idea, or are you too beholden to other powers?”
The CEO noted that the company’s major shareholders include massive financial corporations pushing the woke “environmental, social, and corporate governance” standards.
“I’m sure @YouTube will have to check with its largest shareholders first, @Vanguard_Group and @BlackRock,” Boreing tweeted.
The company recently fought back against Big Tech censorship when Twitter reneged on a special advertising deal for Matt Walsh’s blockbuster documentary exposing transgenderism, “What is a Woman?” and promised to throttle and otherwise censor the film. It ended up reaching over 175 million in views after CEO Elon Musk stepped in to rectify the situation and promote the movie which is critical of gender ideology.