Why was David Duke banned from YouTube? Read the reason behind YouTube's decision

On June 29, 2020, video sharing platform YouTube banned some of its creators. The list includes Richard Spencer and David Duke among many others. The decision came following the widespread protests in America for the Black Lives Matter movement. Continue reading to find out why was David Duke banned from YouTube.

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Who is David Duke?

David Duke is a 70-year-old American racial supremacist and politician. He is also the former Grand Wizard of the Knights of Klu Klux Klan. Grand Wizard is the title given to the head of Ku Klux Klan. David Duke is a failed Democratic candidate for state legislature elections during the 1970s and 1980s. After failing to gain any attention within the Democratic Party, Duke left and gained the presidential nomination of the minor Populist Party.

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Why was David Duke banned from YouTube?

Following the death of George Floyd in police custody and protests in America, many social media platforms and companies are clearing their platforms off the creators who are propagating hate. YouTube announced its decision to ban supremacist content on the platform in June 2019. However, the platform didn’t act upon the decision until June 29, 2020.

In an interview given to a media portal, the YouTube spokesperson stated that the platform has strict rules when it comes to propagating hate speech. The spokesperson added that YouTube had revised its policies in 2019, following which unto 25,000 channels uploading supremacist content were removed from the platform.

The decision to ban David Duke, from YouTube comes after the June 24 ban of Gavin McInnes who was the leader of the violent alt-right Proud Boys group as well as a co-founder of Vice.

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Other Social Media platforms banning creators spreading hate:

On June 29, 2020, alongside YouTube, Reddit also decided to revamp its content policy. More than 2,000 subreddits were removed from the platform as a result. One of them was a popular community of President Trump supporters. Moreover, advertisers are boycotting Facebook for its failure to curb the spread of anti-Semitic and hate content on the platform. Among other social media platforms Facebook, in particular, has been widely criticized for its inaction over racially charged posts.

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