YouTube banned Fox News host Dan Bongino, forever deplatforming one of the internet’s most popular conservative commentators.
The popular video service run by Google said Bongino tried to circumvent a one-week ban for spreading COVID-19 misinformation on one channel by posting on another channel, resulting in a permanent suspension.
“We terminated Dan Bongino’s channels for circumventing our Terms of Service by posting a video while there was an active strike and suspension associated with the account,” YouTube said in a statement to USA TODAY. “When a channel receives a strike, it is against our Terms of Service to post content or use another channel to circumvent the suspension.”
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Both YouTube channels have been taken down. YouTube said Bongino would not be allowed to create any new channels or use any other channels in the future. Bongino posted a video earlier this week announcing he planned to leave YouTube and post all of his videos on Rumble in which he is an investor.
Alleging mainstream social media platforms are biased against them, right-wing politicians and personalities from former President Donald Trump to Bongino are pushing alternative services.
The blowback against YouTube, Facebook and Twitter intensified after the major social media platforms suspended Trump after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
Two states, Florida and Texas, have passed laws targeting social media companies for restricting or removing conservative content or accounts. The laws have been temporarily blocked by the courts.
