Google Deletes Music Video Critical of Biden’s Afghanistan Withdrawal

(IntegrityMag.com) – The censorship of conservative voices in the Big Tech sphere is nothing new. While most platforms insist they only remove or restrict content that violates user protection policies, many incidents suggest that both algorithms and moderators suffer from bias that heavily favors liberal ideals. For example, YouTube recently sanctioned one user in a way that seemed aimed at protecting President Joe Biden.

On January 2 famous singer-songwriter John Ondrasik, who also goes by the stage name Five for Fighting, posted a music video for “Blood on My Hands” on YouTube. His song laments the atrocities in Afghanistan following the US military’s botched withdrawal from the nation, and the paired footage includes clips of dead and wounded individuals.

The video quickly went viral, racking up over 250,000 views. YouTube suddenly deleted it on January 7, citing issues with graphic content.

Ondrasik posted a lengthy statement on Twitter following the removal of the video.

I have just received notification that @YouTube has taken down the Blood on My Hands – White House Docu-Music video. pic.twitter.com/SIFy13ftE4

— John Ondrasik (@johnondrasik) January 7, 2022

The singer highlighted the fact he had included a graphic content warning and that YouTube had initially posted it with a notice about age-appropriateness, which he was happy to accept at the time.

YouTube later reinstated the video after widespread controversy and pressure from the public. However, it did not comment on why the platform took it down in the first place. Their silence prompted Ondrasik to release a second statement thanking them for taking action and expressing the video’s important role in awareness.

On @Youtube taking down and eventually reposting my Blood on my Hands – White House music video that documents the American withdrawal from Afghanistan. pic.twitter.com/O3w3JCusJD

— John Ondrasik (@johnondrasik) January 10, 2022