YouTube shuts down the account of InfoWars Bureau chief Jerome Corsi
hen the far-right InfoWars decided to accuse teenage school shooting survivor David Hogg of being a paid actor, they did not realize they were only one strike away from being banned on YouTube. With around 30,000 subscribers under their belt, InfoWars Bureau chief Jerome Corsi’s entire YouTube presence has been wiped clean soon after they uploaded a video seeking to undermine the credibility of Parkland Shooting victims.
The vast majority of people were not surprised to see it happen so soon. A few days after YouTube issued a second community guidelines strike on their main channel, InfoWars took a left turn.
YouTube community guidelines usually require 3 strikes to terminate before they shut down an account. Every strike removes some features from the channel as it increases. If a third strike is issued within three months of the second strike, the company warns its user they will terminate the account right away.
This is a serious issue.
Users whose accounts have been terminated are prohibited from accessing, possessing, or creating any other Google Accounts. When an account is terminated, the account owner receives an email detailing the reason for the termination.
The announcement comes at a time when multiple websites are trying to figure out how to regulate sensitive and controversial content. YouTube has still blocked controversial vlogger Logan Paul from receiving ad revenue, and strengthened its barriers to entry to monetization in the wake of Paul’s violations. Back in November, Twitter paused its verification process for reworking after its verification of a white supremacist received backlash. And Facebook’s been trying all sorts of things to curtail the spread of fake news across its platform.
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