YouTube Censors a Government Hearing in Ohio
February 2, 2021
It is a strange world we live in. Google’s efforts to curb misinformation on YouTube have led it to take down footage of legislative testimony in Ohio. Cincinnati’s WLWT5 News reports, “YouTube Removes Ohio Committee Video, Citing Misinformation.” We are not surprised the misinformation at hand relates to COVID-19. Digital editor Brian Wiechert writes:
“The video showed Thomas Renz, an attorney for Ohio Stands Up, a citizen group, make the opening testimony during a House committee hearing on a bill that would allow lawmakers to vote down public health orders during the pandemic. In the more than 30-minute testimony, Renz made a number of debunked or baseless claims, including that no Ohioans under the age of 19 have died from COVID-19 – a claim that has been debunked by state data. … “The removal, first reported by Ohio Capital Journal, comes days after the Republican lawmakers in the Senate passed a bill that would establish ‘checks and balances’ on fellow GOP Gov. Mike DeWine’s ability to issue and keep in place executive action during the coronavirus pandemic. Proponents of the bills in the House and Senate believe DeWine and the state health department have issued orders during the last 11 months of the pandemic that have remained enacted for longer than necessary and, as a result, have unduly damaged small businesses and the state’s economy. Opponents called it unconstitutional and warned it would decentralize the state’s response during an emergency and cost lives in the process.”
Checks and balances on lifesaving measures during a pandemic—I am sure this is not what our founders had in mind. Good move, Google. Ohio is a fly over state, so maybe it is devalued because it is not intellectually as capable as the Left and Right coasts of the USA? If residents of the state disagree with that assessment, they may wish to do something about the current occupants of their Senate chamber.
Can we blame it on the Google artificial intelligence software?
Cynthia Murrell, March 2, 2021
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