YouTube removes Louis Farrakhan’s Nation of Islam channel
Video-sharing giant takes down controversial preacher's account citing 'policies against hate speech'
YouTube has removed the video channel of the Nation of Islam, the organisation led by Louis Farrakhan.
YouTube said it removed the channel on Oct. 2, citing its policies against hate speech, according to the Jewish Journal.
“We have strict policies prohibiting hate speech on YouTube, and terminate any channel that repeatedly or egregiously violates those policies,” said the statement, according to the Jewish Journal. YouTube said it has removed 25,000 channels for hate speech.
Some individual accounts of Nation of Islam members are still up, with tens of thousands of followers.
Board of Deputies President Marie van der Zyl welcomed the move. This comes in wake of a series of meetings between communal groups and social media companies, in a bid to stop online hate and extremism, in wake of grime artist Wiley’s antisemitic outburst during the summer.
She said: “We are pleased that YouTube has finally removed the Nation of Islam channel from its platform, a step we had urged them to take in meetings this year.”
Its removal – filled as it was with antisemitic and homophobic videos featuring the organisation’s leader Louis Farrakhan – was long overdue. We commend the platform for taking action and urge it to continue to remove those who spread hate and division.”
Farrakhan is a longtime, vehement antisemite who has railed against “wicked Jews,” praised Adolf Hitler, condemned the “synagogue of Satan,” likened Jews to termites and accused them of controlling the U.S. government. He also has a history of homophobia. This past summer, a string of celebrities defended or praised Farrakhan and echoed his antisemitic rhetoric.
A July 4 speech in which Farrakhan called Jews the “enemy of God” has been viewed more than a million times, according to the Anti-Defamation League. That month the ADL called Farrakhan the “most popular antisemite in America.”
YouTube has also removed white supremacists from its platform this year, including Richard Spencer and David Duke.
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