YouTube decided to take out the trash yesterday when it suspended Senator Rand Paul’s account for seven days after he used the online platform to spread coronavirus misinformation.
Paul, who supports deregulation and believes businesses should have the legal right to discriminate against whoever they want, posted a video falsely stating that face masks are ineffective against the spread of coronavirus.
“Most of the masks you get over the counter don’t work,” the antigay senator from Kentucky claimed. “They don’t prevent infection.”
He also said “cloth masks don’t work” either.
How about we take this to the next level?
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Both of Paul’s claims are false. The CDC, WHO, and countless public health experts, including epidemiologists, all agree that masks help protect against the spread of coronavirus.
A spokesperson for YouTube says Paul’s video violated the company’s policy on COVID-19 misinformation.
“We removed content from Senator Paul’s channel for including claims that masks are ineffective in preventing the contraction or transmission of COVID-19, in accordance with our COVID-19 medical misinformation policies,” a spokesperson said. “This resulted in a first strike on the channel, which means it can’t upload content for a week, per our longstanding three strikes policy.”
As for Paul, he fired off an angry tweet yesterday accusing YouTube of being run by a bunch of “leftwing cretins” then said being banned from the platform was a “badge of honor.”
“Leftwing cretins at Youtube banning me for 7 days for a video that quotes 2 peer reviewed articles saying cloth masks don’t work,” he tweeted.
A badge of honor . . . leftwing cretins at Youtube banning me for 7 days for a video that quotes 2 peer reviewed articles saying cloth masks don’t work.
If you want to see the banned video go to Liberty Tree https://t.co/gsTUwuLZGL
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) August 10, 2021
We can only assume that, given how much he hates YouTube, Paul will not return to the platform next week when his suspension is lifted.
Then in a statement to the right-wing website Liberty Tree, he lied about lying when he said, “I haven’t lied. I haven’t used expletives. I haven’t spread misinformation. I have only told the truth about what our government seeks to do to us, curtailing our most basic liberties, using the COVID-19 pandemic as their excuse.”
Paul’s wife, Kelley, also weighed in on the matter, defending her husband by posting a quote from an email Dr. Anthony Fauci wrote at the very, very beginning of the pandemic before the CDC updated its guidelines on masks in April 2020 when more information about COVID-19 became available.
Cc: @AndyBeshearKY: “The typical mask you buy in the drug store is not really effective in keeping out the virus, which is small enough to pass through the material.” -Dr Fauci in email advising friend not to wear one. Unless they are single use N95, masks don’t protect kids.
— Kelley Paul (@KelleyAshbyPaul) August 10, 2021
Here’s how folx on Twitter are responding to Paul’s YouTube suspension…
The free market has decided that your opinion is trash
— Travis Allen 🇺🇸 (@TravisAllen02) August 10, 2021
Rand Paul is fully vaccinated. Pass it on
— J (@GetYourGEDBro) August 10, 2021
No GOOD doctor ever said, ” I think I’ll go be a politician. Taking care of people isn’t working out for me.”
Only the crappy ones.
The crappy, crappy ones.
— Robyn Rundell (@RobynRundell) August 10, 2021
Wearing a mask is like wearing a seatbelt. You may not need it every minute, but when you do need it, you’ll be damn happy it was there and you didn’t go through a windshield.
— Shawn Kirkland 🇺🇸🌊🇺🇸🌊🇺🇸🌊🇺🇸🌊 (@ShawnKirkland48) August 11, 2021
— Matt Bialer (@MattBialer) August 11, 2021
“Libertarian cries because business exercises free market practices.”
— Judson Hall 🇺🇸 (@judsonhh) August 10, 2021
if only you were taller, and had any shame at all
— Luke Zaleski (@ZaleskiLuke) August 10, 2021
Men used to go to war, now they complain about their corny videos being banned on the internet.
— Akilah Hughes (@AkilahObviously) August 11, 2021
I reported your video and that is a badge of honor.
— RandahlR (@RandahlR1) August 10, 2021
It’s weird that you support businesses refusing to serve POC or LGBTQ folk out of concerns for freedom to discriminate despite that such customers threaten no harm, but you’re up in arms because this business won’t tolerate misinformation which actually risks other user’s lives.
— vibradiant (@vibradiant) August 11, 2021
Graham Gremore is the Features Editor and a Staff Writer at Queerty. Follow him on Twitter @grahamgremore.
Invader7
Typical whiny republican low life A hole… What a d- bag. The gop rule book : ” Don’t do as we do , do as we say.” In other words one set of rules for the NEO NAZI FASCISTS in suits . And one set of rules they want to impose on the rest of the people.. Hell NO… He’s easily triggered. Maybe be borderline /sociopathic…
Max
anything used as mask is better than no mask at all. he has zero respect for people’s lives and the kids are going to pay for it when an even more virulent variant comes up next.
Mr. Stadnick
He has broken his Hippocratic Oath and should lose his license.
Halfnhalf
The AMA did that yesterday. They sighted the disinformation as one of the reasons, along with breaking the Hippocratic Oath.
Toofie
It’s bizarre this fight against measures to stop infections. Their constituents are the ones most vulnerable for not getting vaccinated. It’s like they want them sick and dying.
Cam
Republicans claim to love capitalism and private companies, but that’s only because it never occurs to them that those companies will apply the rules to them.
JRamonMc
Hopefully the good people of Kentucky will send this trash to the curb and replace him with Charles Booker in the next election, making him the 1st black senator of the state. Next we’re coming for Mitch!
Roy Moss
Good people of Kentucky? Judging by their elected officials, “good people” in Kentucky are far outnumbered by ignorant , hate driven conservatives.
Fahd
He has lost his niche as the most obnoxious member of Congress, and it’s pathetic to see him trying to claw his way back to that dubious distinction. As Sen. Graham might say, Sen. Rand is no longer “relevant”.
Jim
Hey hey hey Cancun Cruz is the most obnoxious member of Congress!!
TheAbsoluteTRUTH
N95-70%
Regular mask 40%
Cloth mask 20%
Not much of a lie
whereshouldistart
ANY mouth covering will greatly reduce transmission.
Openminded
You, like so many are refusing to hear what the CDC is saying. They have stated that standard masks don’t do a tremendous amount of protection for the wearer but that they are important to prevent the spread of droplets of moisture we breath, cough, sneeze, and speak out of our mouths. If everyone would wear a mask, it’s much less likely that someone with Covid will infect those around them. Of course this theory requires people to take action to protect others, not themselves, and in today’s “me first” world, nobody cares about anybody else. I’m not denying the accuracy of your stats, but you need to include the stats that show that standard masks are 95% effective at preventing the spread of contaminated droplets from the exhalation of the wearer. You, like the rest of the anti-maskers who are keeping this country and it’s economy bogged down with the reignited spread of Covid, should also be claiming condoms provide little protection from erectile dysfunction, which they don’t help. They are, however, highly effective at preventing the birth of idiots.
OhHellNo
Why does every other pic of Paul have him looking like he’s about to suck something? Trump’s gone, dude!
BoomerMyles
His neighbor didn’t go far enough.
wikidBSTN
Hey Senator Medusa – get a freakin’ haircut!
Jim
Poor Rand. Soooo discriminated against. NOT