Sen. Rand Paul suspended from YouTube after controversial claims about masking

YouTube has banned Sen. Rand Paul from posting new videos for a week after he uploaded a video making claims about COVID-19 and masks, according to the senator and multiple reports.

In his video, Forbes reported that Paul said “cloth masks don’t work” and most over-the-counter masks “don’t prevent infection.”

However, public health experts have said cloth masks can offer some degree of protection against the virus.

Youtube on Monday said the video violated its COVID-19 medical misinformation policy, and it was since deleted from the site, according to Forbes.

It was the second time one of Paul’s videos has been removed; the New York Times reported that last week an eight-minute Newsmax interview was taken down from his channel. In the interview, Paul said “there’s no value” in wearing masks, the New York Times said.

“They are now banning all my speech, including speech that is given on the Senate floor, which is protected constitutional,” Paul told the Washington Examiner. “YouTube now thinks they are smart enough and godly enough that they can oversee speech, even constitutionally protected speech.”

The week-long ban is part of YouTube’s “first strike” response to a second offense, and per the website’s policy, a third offense within 90 days will result in a two-week suspension.

On Twitter, Paul called his suspension “a badge of honor,” blaming the “leftwing cretins at Youtube” and providing an alternate website to watch the banned video.

This story was originally published August 11, 2021 at 6:12 AM with the headline "Sen. Rand Paul suspended from YouTube after controversial claims about masking."