Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) published an op-ed on Monday, announcing that he is beginning his “exodus from Big Tech,” starting with the “worst censor of all, YouTube.”
“As a libertarian leaning Senator, I think private companies have the right to ban me if they want to, however, those of us who believe that truth comes from disputation and that the marketplace of ideas is a prerequisite for innovation should shun the close-minded censors and take our ideas elsewhere, which is exactly what I’m doing,” announced Dr. Paul in a press release.
The op-ed, titled “My New Year’s resolution: I’m quitting YouTube,” was published by The Washington Examiner.
“Every year, people resolve to do things that are better for their health — quitting alcohol, processed food, toxic relationships. I have come to the realization that my relationship with YouTube is dysfunctional,” Dr. Paul began. “Sure, I can get millions of views. But why should I allow anonymous ‘fact-checkers’ to censor my fully sourced, fact-based content? They don’t want to challenge or debate me with opposing views, they just want my silence.”
“Everyone complains about Big Tech. The Left says Big Tech doesn’t censor enough. The right complains that Big Tech censors too much already,” Paul continued. “Many in Congress, on the Left and the Right, want to break up or regulate Big Tech, but few of these loud voices have actually stepped up and quit using Big Tech.”
Sen. Paul then criticized YouTube for deleting videos, such as those he said included substantiated claims regarding the efficacy of cloth masks.
“A hallmark of the scientific method is to challenge and disprove a hypothesis,” Paul argued. “Yet we have abandoned science and rational debate for an almost religious adherence to the edicts of government bureaucrats like Anthony Fauci. To challenge the data is to be a ‘denier’ or ‘conspiracist’ who must be silenced.”
“An entire generation of young people, who use these platforms exclusively for their news, will never read or hear of opinions or ideas that challenge the Big Government / Big Tech orthodoxy,” Dr. Paul wrote later. “If they do happen to see, for example, an article claiming that the coronavirus could have originated with a lab leak in Wuhan, it is quickly condemned as ‘debunked’ or a ‘conspiracy’ by the invisible, all-knowing ‘fact-checkers’ employed by Big Tech. Until of course, it isn’t — but by then, it’s too late, public attention has moved on, the damage done.”
“About half of the public leans right. If we all took our messaging to outlets of free exchange, we could cripple Big Tech in a heartbeat,” Paul concluded. “So, today I take my first step toward denying my content to Big Tech. Hopefully, other liberty lovers will follow.”
“Competition is the answer,” Paul wrote. “So, to complainers about Big Tech censorship, just quit!”
Ian Haworth is an Editor and Writer for The Daily Wire. Follow him on Twitter at @ighaworth.