YouTube announced it will restore thousands of channels that were previously banned for violating its COVID-19 and election integrity policies[^1]. This decision came in a 28-page letter from Alphabet to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan on September 23, 2025[^7].
The company acknowledged that Biden administration officials had pressured YouTube to remove content "that did not violate its policies," which Alphabet called "unacceptable and wrong"[^1][^7]. YouTube's current guidelines now permit a "wider range of content" regarding COVID-19 and elections[^1].
Notable figures who could return include Dan Bongino (now FBI Deputy Director), White House counterterrorism chief Sebastian Gorka, and others who were banned for discussing COVID-19 or election claims[^14]. The platform will offer terminated creators a process to rejoin if they were banned for violating policies that are no longer in effect[^7].
As part of this change, YouTube will also ban the use of official fact-checkers on its platform, instead launching a feature similar to X's "Community Notes" that allows users to provide context on videos[^7].
[^1]: Ars Technica - YouTube will restore channels banned for COVID and election misinformation
[^7]: Deseret News - YouTube restores accounts that were censored over COVID-19 and 2020 election claims
[^14]: Washington Examiner - YouTube content creators no longer banned over political speech
23 Comments
crunchy@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 32 pts · 336d
I'm having a hard time believing that the Biden administration was some tyrannical anti-free speech censorship regime (can you imagine?). I remember the White House wanting a meeting with the social media platform owners at the time to discuss concerns of COVID misinformation that was literally killing people, and they didn't say anything about being forced to until Trump won the election. This stinks of shitty lip service to the current administration.
TheAgeOfSuperboredom@lemmy.ca · 14 pts · 336d
It's not lip service. The large platforms are now the official propaganda arm of fascism.
StewNasty@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 10 pts · 336d
Of course they are. They see which way the wind is blowing and are following it to the money. Simple as.
FreedomAdvocate@lemmy.net.au · -10 pts · 336d
You say this while the large platforms have all been found to have been the official propaganda arm of the democrats, which is a staple of actual fascism, while now the current administration is making them stop being propaganda arms of the democrats.
TheAgeOfSuperboredom@lemmy.ca · 6 pts · 336d
This guy! ☝ What a joker! 😂😂😂😂😂
FreedomAdvocate@lemmy.net.au · -3 pts · 335d
Do you even know what the topic you’re writing these comments in is about?
msage@programming.dev · 2 pts · 335d
Yes.
FreedomAdvocate@lemmy.net.au · 1 pts · 334d
What is your take on this? Do you think that is authoritarian/fascist behaviour by the Biden administration?
greasewizard@slrpnk.net · 2 pts · 335d
they've been found? by who?
the owners of large platforms and their right to moderate their communities has little to do with "democrat propaganda".
Misinformation gets people hurt, YouTube at the time didn't want their users getting hurt.
now that the new administration is here, they are removing these policies to allow even more propaganda back onto their platform.
FreedomAdvocate@lemmy.net.au · 1 pts · 334d
Did you somehow just randomly end up in this topic without even seeing what it was about?
How are so many people in here missing the entire point of the article that this thread is about?
Youtube didn't think their users were getting hurt. Youtube deleted videos and banned accounts because the Biden administration forced them to.
TacoButtPlug@sh.itjust.works · 13 pts · 336d
I mean Biden cancelled TikTok because it was spreading truths about Palestine and he had an old man forcably removed from the press conference: https://www.newsweek.com/sam-husseini-removed-antony-blinken-press-conference-israel-palestine-gaza-2016296
I hate Trump as much as anyone but Biden wasn't doing anyone any favors.
FreedomAdvocate@lemmy.net.au · -10 pts · 336d
Are you serious? Like......legit serious? Were you not paying attention?
You do realize that you're just repeating the lies that the government used to force companies like meta to censor people unfairly, don't you?
HotsauceHurricane@lemmy.world · 15 pts · 336d
This sounds terrible.
87Six@lemmy.zip · 10 pts · 336d
Banning comedians and journalists while unbanning shitty misinformation youtubers..Nice
HotsauceHurricane@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 336d
Misinformation YT-jockies don't pose a threat to them.
xxce2AAb@feddit.dk · 4 pts · 336d
"All right ladies and gentlemen: This is deadly serious. I need you all to make suggestions for how we can make YouTube even worse. I know we've already picked the low hanging fruit. Our desktop experience is poorer than it's ever been, user comments are horrendous, and you've all done great and terrible work, but... Now I need the really disastrous options so we can more smoothly become an integral part of the fascist machine of our new glorious owners."
GoTime@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 336d
But why?
ImgurRefugee114@reddthat.com · 2 pts · 336d
To hasten The Fall of course
Rothe@piefed.social · 2 pts · 336d
To create more brainwashed morons who will simp for their oligarch overlords.
FreedomAdvocate@lemmy.net.au · -1 pts · 336d
Read the article maybe?
TacoButtPlug@sh.itjust.works · 3 pts · 336d
I like Peertube
Lodespawn@aussie.zone · 2 pts · 336d
Didn't Dan Bongino quit the FBI? And if he stuck his balls in a wood chipper and stayed, is the deputy director of the FBI allowed to run a podcast? Surely that's some kind of gaping security anus?
etherphon@piefed.world · 2 pts · 336d
hal_5700X@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 332d
Good.