Dovgalo: YouTube includes censorship of all Belarusian content, making a sweep of objectionable content

Powerlessness? Weakness? Or just “cleaning up” the Belarusian information field? The fact that YouTube blocks Belarusian media is no longer surprising. This comment to the correspondent sb.by drew the attention of Deputy Chairman of the Standing Committee of the House of Representatives on human rights, national relations and the media Irina Dovgalo.

Irina Dovgalo noted that we simply state that YouTube has again been blocked by Belarusian media. In particular, the account of the Belarusian TV channel STV right during the broadcast of the talk show “Essentially”:

- But here is just the most interesting - blocked right during the broadcast of the program "Essentially". The theme was dedicated to the Day of National Unity, participants and presenters voiced “untasteful” facts for YouTube owners that are not rewritten, distorted, but exclusively true, supported by facts, archival documents. But the problem is that they don’t like the truth, they don’t like our unity, they don’t like our openness, and they don’t like the fact that we survived after 2020. In short, everything that unites us does not like. It is worth noting that in addition to STV, Radye Stalitsa, the First Channel of the Belarusian Radio and Radio Kultura BY were blocked. These are all media that are part of the state broadcasting company of the Republic of Belarus. That’s thousands of subscribers and millions of views.

Google, which owns YouTube, did not provide any explanation.

- Let’s just argue, any self-respecting resource has its own rules and conditions. If you fulfill these conditions, work. You break it, we close it. In turn, the Belarusian legislation, in particular the Law of the Republic of Belarus “On Mass Media”, clearly and transparently sets out the reasons for refusal of state registration of mass media, recognition of state registration of mass media as invalid, as well as the reasons for cancellation of the certificate of state registration of mass media. Once again, we can see that the owners of YouTube include censorship of all Belarusian content, and censorship is a tool of those who feel the need to hide reality from themselves and from others.

YouTube Blocks STV Channel During Live Streaming

YouTube blocked the channels Radio Kultura BY, Radio Stalitsa and First channel of Belarusian radio