THE editors of left-wing, independent news website Novara have expressed their anger after their YouTube channel was shut down “without warning or explanation”.
The media platform, which was launched in 2011, called on the video service to “immediately” reinstate the account - and saw it come back later this afternoon following a "review" by YouTube.
Novara uses the platform to stream its regular podcasts and video content, including the TyskySour show presented by journalist Michael Walker three times a week.
In a statement, Novara said its account is “among the top 50 most watched news and politics channels in the UK”.
A statement from Novara Media on our YouTube channel’s deletion. pic.twitter.com/LXRUaIQN1X
— Novara Media (@novaramedia) October 26, 2021
“We play an important public service role and regularly feature interviews with politicians, human rights campaigners, scientists and activists from around the world,” they went on.
“We are also regulated by IMPRESS in the UK. We call on YouTube to immediately reinstate our account.”
Ash Sarkar, a media commentator and senior editor at Novara, defended the website's output.
"We’ve produced some of the most rigorous analysis of the coronavirus pandemic, interviewing world-class experts and keeping an audience of young people who are disengaged from legacy media informed about current affairs," she wrote online.
"This is an attack on quality British journalism by an unaccountable American tech giant. You might not like our politics or our personalities, but the deletion of Novara’s account is a threat to everyone."
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The mysterious deletion prompted discussion online, with left-wingers jumping to Novara’s defence.
Labour MPs Bell Ribeiro-Addy and Richard Burgon (below) were among those to criticise YouTube’s move. Ribeiro-Addy said the decision “reeks of censorship”, while Burgon argued Novara is an “important platform for left journalism and discussion … it shouldn’t be shut down”.
Their colleague Dawn Butler was quick to ask how she could support the media group.
National columnist Pat Kane commented: “That’s outrageous. But also an alert to left-greens – we need to be building enduring, defensible media platforms.”
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Green MP for Brighton Pavilion Caroline Lucas added: “This is an outrage. Youtube must explain themselves immediately - and if they don't they can expect to be hearing from MPs from across the political spectrum.”
Right-wing comedian and failed Reform UK candidate Leo Kearse also condemned the social media platform, tweeting: “I find Novara achingly woke and laughably naive about the viability of communism. But it shouldn't be silenced. YouTube's editorial processes should be open, fair and transparent.”
A spokesperson for YouTube said: “Novara Media’s channel was briefly removed after it was flagged, but upon review, it was then immediately reinstated. We work quickly to review all flagged content, but with millions of hours of video uploaded on YouTube every day, on occasion we make the wrong call.”
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