YouTube deletes RT’s Germany channels over COVID-19 misinformation

YouTube on Tuesday deleted RT’s German-language channels, saying the Russian state-backed broadcaster had breached its COVID-19 information policy.

“YouTube has always had clear community guidelines that outline what is allowed on the platform,” a company spokesperson told multiple outlets. Prior to the termination, RT received a strike and a subsequent week-long ban from publishing, which RT tried to circumvent by uploading through a channel for one of its shows called “Der Fehlende Part” — which translates to “The missing part”.

RT’s attempt to avoid the ban backfired. “As a result, both channels were terminated for breaking YouTube Terms of Service,” the spokesperson added. It is against YouTube’s policy for someone suspended to use another channel to circumvent the ban.

RT’s editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan called the ban a “real media war declared by the state of Germany to the state of Russia” in a tweet. She also called for the Russian state to respond by banning German public-service broadcasters, like ARD and ZDF.

During the pandemic, RT, whose motto is to “stay critical”, doubted the existence of a second infection wave in Germany and reported an alleged “vaccine massacre” in Norway, ARD reported.