YouTube slapped an age restriction notice on French presidential candidate Éric Zemmour’s campaign announcement video.
“You must now present your identity papers to have the right to watch the video of my declaration of candidacy. The thought police are no longer even hiding: they are showing off their tyrannical nature. The real fight begins,” a Google translation of Zemmour’s tweet in reaction to the censorship reads.
Il faut désormais présenter ses papiers d'identité pour avoir le droit de regarder la vidéo de ma déclaration de candidature. La police de la pensée ne se cache même plus : elle exhibe sa nature tyrannique. Le vrai combat commence. pic.twitter.com/UfaEsj9C1a
— Eric Zemmour (@ZemmourEric) December 2, 2021
The video, which was posted on Tuesday and has accumulated more than 2.5 million views, features the French journalist explaining why he chose to run for president overlayed with clips from the news and clips showing the European country.
“For decades, the left and the right have led us to this deadly path of decline and decadence,” a translation of Zemmour’s speech in French reads. “Left and right, they have lied to you. They have hidden the gravity of our decline. They have hidden the reality of our replacement. You have known me for years. You know my opinions, my analyses, my predictions.”
Zemmour, who has been branded by the corporate media as a “far-right candidate,” goes on to explain that he always thought a “politician would eventually take up the torch” but “Just like you, I can no longer trust.”
“Just like you, I have decided to seize our destiny,” Zemmour said. “I understood that no politician would be brave enough to save the country from its tragic fate.”
The end of Zemmour’s address features a patriotic call to action for any French men or women who feel unheard and unrepresented.
“They will say you are racist, that you’re driven by a dismal passion, while it is a passion of utmost beauty: the passion for France. They will say horrible things about me. But I will endure. Insults and vicious attacks will not intimidate me. I will never bow down, because we have a mission to fulfill,” Zemmour continued. “The people of France were intimidated, paralyzed, indoctrinated, riddled with guilt. But they’re picking themselves up, letting their masks slip, dispersing the noxious lies and chasing away their bad shepherds. We will make France continue. We will carry on this beautiful and noble French adventure. We will pass on the torch to future generations. Help me. Join me. Rise up. We, the people of France, have always overcome. Long live the Republic, and most importantly, long live France.”
According to YouTube’s policy, age restriction occurs when the Google-owned platform determines that content contains “Child safety” concerns, “Harmful or dangerous activities, including regulated substances and drugs,” “Nudity and sexually suggestive content,” “Violent or graphic content,” and/or “Vulgar language.”
Zemmour’s announcement does not appear to explicitly violate any of these themes. YouTube, however, did not immediately respond to the Federalist’s questions about what specifically in the video reportedly violated the community guidelines.
Searches of Zemmour’s video were also reportedly subdued on YouTube.
And if you run a YouTube search it won't return the video on his own channel, all you get is page after page of coverage by mainstream media channels.https://t.co/tgmnZp9Z0e
— Olivier Travers (@otravers) December 2, 2021
Source: The Federalist
