- The Washington Times - Wednesday, December 9, 2020

Steven Crowder has a message for YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki and the social media giant’s new rules requiring “context” for political fare: “Get ready for sufficient f—-ing context!”

The popular comedian and political pundit told over 5 million subscribers Wednesday that YouTube’s vow “ramp up” the removal of certain election-related content pertaining to allegations of voter fraud is absurd.

“Get ready for sufficient f—-ing context, YouTube! Because a Supreme Court case — a landmark Supreme Court case — I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Mr. Crowder said. “This is my livelihood. It’s everyone’s livelihood here.”

YouTube’s new rules will target any creator who “misleads” audiences with commentary on “widespread fraud or errors [that] changed the outcome of the 2020 election.”

Only content with sufficient “education, documentary, scientific or artistic context” will be spared from content purges.

“I don’t know if the actual Supreme Court of the United States suffices, YouTube,” Mr. Crowder continued. “Let’s be clear: President-elect [Biden]? No. The disputes have not been resolved. This is the rule. There are disputes in these states. You cannot say that the election is over.”

His comments come in the wake of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s petition to the Supreme Court to invalidate the election results in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin due to hasty changes to the election process never approved by state legislatures.

Mr. Crowder also noted on Twitter that YouTube’s new rules are peculiar, given the massive audience he netted during his live coverage on Election Day.

“NBC/Vox leaned on Youtube to ban us with #VoxAdpocalypse after we surpassed their audience,” he tweeted. “This time, we’ve beaten their PRIMETIME election coverage ratings WHILE TALKING ABOUT VOTER FRAUD, and SURPRISE! New rules.”

Fellow YouTube commentator Dave Rubin (1.46 million subscribers) also weighed in, calling the rules “an extraordinary escalation in the free speech war.” 

“Holy s—- just got this email from YouTube,” he tweeted. “Starting today they will remove content about election fraud…even though there are court cases about election fraud going through the system at this very moment. Adios free speech. The bannings are coming.”

• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.

Copyright © 2024 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.

Please read our comment policy before commenting.