Online platforms have been finally cracking down on COVID misinformation. As it just so happens, everyone who’s been suspended or booted has been on the far right. Marjorie Taylor Greene kicked off the new year by being permanently banned from Twitter (and later briefly suspended by Facebook). Then there’s Trump, the big dog, who hasn’t been on most of social media in over a year. Now one service has flagged another big Trumpist.
As per The Hill, YouTube has temporarily suspended Dan Bongino, the conservative commentator whose vibe is “what if a bulging forehead vein became a human?” The frequent Geraldo Rivera squabbler isn’t allowed to post new videos for a week and he’s been demonetized for at least 30 days.
The reason? He can’t stop spreading COVID misinformation, of course. The video that did it involved him calling masks “useless,” which violates one of YouTube’s specific rules, namely that you can’t deny the efficacy of masks in slowing the spread of a highly transmissible virus.
It’s the first “strike” Bongino has received. Should he receive a second, he’ll receive a two-week suspension. The third is permanent banishment from the internet’s largest video sharing service.
Dan Bongino announces tonight he has been suspended by YouTube. This is part of the email response that he sent to them. pic.twitter.com/u2feFaKPSn
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) January 15, 2022
It’s ambiguous whether Bongino will return. In a post on Instagram, the pundit wrotem, “If I said I was surprised here I’d be lying,” calling them a “tyrannical, free-speech-hating, bulls*it, big tech shit hole.” He even said he “anxiously awaited” being suspended.
Till his suspension ends, he can always go hang out at the MAGA social media joint GETTR, which even Joe Rogan finds unpleasant.
(Via The Hill)