Sen. Rand Paul announced the start of his “exodus from Big Tech” on Monday, beginning with YouTube—“the worst censor of all.”
“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,” he said in a statement.
The move comes after Paul received two strikes from the platform—one in August and another in September— over videos the company said violated its Covid-19 misinformation policy.
“Over the last year, YouTube has continued to wage its dangerous, anti-progress of science war against free speech, choosing to act in lockstep with government and ban videos posted by Dr. Paul that dared to contradict the government’s position,” the statement added. “These videos included conversations with journalists where he discussed the efficacy of masks, particularly cloth masks, and a video explaining the science behind why cloth masks don’t work.”
In an op-ed about his decision, Paul said he will only continue posting to YouTube to inform his followers when he has posted a video to Rumble or to criticize the platform.
“An entire generation of young people, who use these platforms exclusively for their news, will never read or hear of opinions or ideas that challenge the Big Government / Big Tech orthodoxy,” he noted.
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The Kentucky Republican said he won’t walk away from all Big Tech right away since it’s an important way to get his message across, but it is a long-term goal. In the meantime and in addition to walking away from YouTube, he has created a news aggregator website focusing on limited government and personal liberty.
“Competition is the answer. So, to complainers about Big Tech censorship, just quit!” he concluded.
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