YouTube takes down Trump video, bans new uploads for a week
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Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
YouTube said Tuesday that it has taken down newly posted video content from President Trump for violating its policies against inciting violence. In addition, it has assessed a "strike" against the account, which means the president can't upload new videos or livestream to the account for a minimum of 7 days.
Why it matters: YouTube has been under pressure to take action after Twitter permanently suspended Trump's account and Facebook instituted a 2-week ban.
"After careful review, and in light of concerns about the ongoing potential for violence, we removed new content uploaded to the Donald J. Trump channel and issued a strike for violating our policies for inciting violence," YouTube said in a statement to Axios. "As a result, in accordance with our long-standing strikes system, the channel is now prevented from uploading new videos or livestreams for a minimum of seven days—which may be extended."
YouTube is also suspending comments throughout Trump's channel, citing the risk of violence. It has limited comments on other accounts in the past, but typically for child safety issues.
Between the lines: YouTube would not identify the offending video.
- Several videos were uploaded to President Trump's YouTube account today, most from his visit to Texas, addressing issues ranging from the border wall to law enforcement to the events of last week.
Context: Although YouTube has taken down videos from the president before — including last week's removal of a Trump video following the Capitol riot — those previous takedowns came during an election grace period, which meant they didn't come with the "strike" or the seven-day upload ban.
