YouTube shuts down Iranian Foreign Ministry channel

American media platforms have once again targeted accounts affiliated with Iranian officials and organizations, with YouTube removing the channel of the Iranian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday.
According to IRNA, YouTube in a message to the Iranian Foreign Ministry declared that the government department’s channel had been removed for “severe or repeated violations” of the platform’s “violent criminal organizations policy.”
The ban seems to have taken place after Iran’s foreign ministry shared a video on the plight and resistance of Palestinians amidst ongoing Israeli attacks in the besieged Gaza Strip.

This incident follows a similar pattern of censorship by American media platforms which have been in full swing to block access to data and muzzle dissent critical of the Israeli regime in the past 8 months. In February, Meta shut down the Instagram and Facebook accounts of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, “for repeatedly violating Dangerous Organizations and Individuals policy.”

Ayatollah Khamenei had been posting in support of Palestinians, urging countries and organizations around the world to uphold human rights and stop Israel from committing a genocide in the devastated enclave. Between October and November 2023, Human Rights Watch conducted a thorough investigation and found that over 1,050 instances of content takedowns and suppression occurred on Instagram and Facebook. These posts, which were shared by Palestinians and their advocates and focused on human rights violations, were the subject of censorship.

Human Rights Watch actively sought out instances of online censorship related to Israel and Palestine, regardless of the perspective being shared. Upon reviewing 1,050 cases for this report, it was revealed that 1,049 of these involved the censorship or undue suppression of peaceful content in support of Palestine, while only one case pertained to the removal of content in support of Israel. The documented instances encompassed content from more than 60 countries, predominantly in English, all expressing peaceful support for Palestine in various forms.

Israel has been carrying out a deadly and destructive military campaign in the besieged Gaza Strip in the past 8 months. The regime has so far killed over 36,000 Palestinian civilians, razed the majority of Gaza to the ground, and committed acts amounting to war crimes multiple times since October 7th. In its latest breach of humanitarian law, Israel killed over 45 women, children, and men who were sheltering in tents in Gaza’s southern Rafah region, which had been designated a “safe zone” by the Israeli military. Reports indicate that the victims perished while trapped in burning tents. A widely circulated video capturing the impact of the Sunday airstrikes has also shaken people around the world, as it shows a slaughtered toddler who lost his head and limbs during the attacks.