In yet another example of a social media platform cracking down on far-right extremists, YouTube has banned the channel of Atomwaffen Division, a Nazi/white supremacist group based in America and reportedly tied to a number of murders, for violation of the site’s hate speech policy.
After a storm of media attention, led primarily by The Daily Beast, concerning the murders and the group’s pro-genocide messaging, the Anti-Defamation League asked YouTube to remove the group’s videos, which include titles like “Gas the K**kes, Race War Now.”
“These videos are not only disgusting racist content that has no place in our society, but they incite hatred against one religious group — in this case, Jews — therefore violating YouTube’s own Community Guidelines. YouTube should take them down immediately,” Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt told Motherboard.
Another blow to the group came last week when its internal messages (in which members bragged and joked about the alleged murder of a gay, Jewish college student by an Atomwaffen member) were leaked. The group has also been linked to four other murders since May 2017. Previously, YouTube had used a “limited state” policy for the Atomwaffen Division videos that were deemed offensive, meaning they could not be shared or be commented on.
(Via Motherboard, The Daily Beast & Propublica)