Since October, YouTube has targeted hundreds of Palestinian videos and user accounts. With around 2.5 billion active users, the platform has deleted at least 700 videos, including a documentary on Palestinian mothers who survived Israel's genocide in Gaza, an investigative video on the killing of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, and a video documenting Israel's demolition of Palestinian homes in the West Bank.
YouTube also removed the accounts of Palestinian human rights groups like Al-Haq, Al Mezan Human Rights Center, and the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR).
The deleted videos, many of which documented alleged Israeli violations of international law, were shared by Palestinian groups on YouTube.
These included footage highlighting the killing of civilians and other acts by the Israeli government in Gaza and the West Bank.
A YouTube spokesperson responded to The Intercept's inquiry, stating that the company complies with U.S. sanctions and trade laws.
However, Palestinian human rights groups criticized the removal of their accounts, calling it a serious violation of human rights and freedom of expression.
The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) denounced YouTube's actions, arguing that they protect the perpetrators of human rights violations.
Basel al-Sourani, a legal advisor for PCHR, stated that YouTube's closure of their account, despite providing fact-based reports on the genocide in Gaza since October 7, was unjustified.
Sarah Leah Whitson, Director of Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), criticized YouTube's actions as censorship, pointing out that claims of violating sanctions were unfounded. Katherine Gallagher, a lawyer at the Constitutional Rights Center, called it a "scandal," accusing YouTube of supporting former President Trump's agenda by suppressing evidence of human rights violations and war crimes.
