Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., says he won’t be posting to YouTube anymore because the video platform site is “the worst censor of all.”
“Today I begin my exodus from Big Tech, starting with the worst censor of all, YouTube,” Paul said in a statement. “As a libertarian-leaning senator, I think private companies have the right to ban me if they want to, however, those of us who believe that truth comes from disputation and that the marketplace of ideas is a prerequisite for innovation should shun the close-minded censors and take our ideas elsewhere, which is exactly what I’m doing.”
Instead, Paul’s team said viewers can see his content on Rumble.com.
Paul’s YouTube account was suspended for seven days twice in August and September over videos the platform said violated its COVID-19 misinformation policy.
In one of the videos, Paul, a staunch critic of Biden administration vaccination policies and of key COVID-19 adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci, posted a video that disputed the effectiveness of wearing masks to limit the spread of the coronavirus.
In the video, Paul says: “Most of the masks you get over the counter don’t work. They don’t prevent infection.” Later in the video, he adds, “Trying to shape human behavior isn’t the same as following the actual science, which tells us that cloth masks don’t work.”
In an op-ed for The Washington Examiner, Paul encouraged others to “shun the close-minded censors of Big Tech and take our ideas elsewhere.”
“About half of the public leans right. If we all took our messaging to outlets of free exchange, we could cripple Big Tech in a heartbeat,” he added. “So, today I take my first step toward denying my content to Big Tech. Hopefully, other liberty lovers will follow.”
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