YouTube Removes, Then Restores, Media Matters’ Compilation Video Of Alex Jones Calling Sandy Hook A ‘Hoax’

YouTube Removes, Then Restores, Media Matters’ Compilation Video Of Alex Jones Calling Sandy Hook A ‘Hoax’

Earlier today, Media Matters for America announced that a compilation video it had created of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones continuously claiming the Sandy Hook shooting was a “false flag” and “hoax” had been removed by YouTube for violating the video platform’s guidelines. On top of that, the media watchdog group had been informed a temporary penalty strike was issued to its account. If an account receives three strikes, YouTube will permanently ban it.

Hours after Media Matters reported on the removal and strike, YouTube restored the video to the site. Media Matters confirmed that the strike was removed from its account, but also told Contemptor that YouTube did not provide an explanation for the restoration.

As MMfA news editor John Whitehouse noted in the site’s post on the strike and video removal, the video was created shortly after two Sandy Hook families filed defamation lawsuits against Jones over his repeated accusations that the massacre was faked and “crisis actors” were used. Of the clips of Jones that Media Matters utilized, several of them were still up live on Jones’ YouTube page.

Below is the video that is now back up on YouTube:

After the video was removed, Whitehouse sent out the following tweets:

And Media Matters’ Matt Gertz had the following to say about it:

On Monday afternoon, when Whitehouse revealed that YouTube had restored the video to their page, he noted that YouTube hasn’t answered why Jones’ videos weren’t questioned.

A YouTube spokesperson gave the following statement to Contemptor regarding the initial removal of the video:

“With the massive volume of videos on our site, sometimes we make the wrong call. When it’s brought to our attention that a video or channel has been removed mistakenly, we act quickly to reinstate it. We also give uploaders the ability to appeal these decisions and we will re-review the videos.”

Meanwhile, Jones and his conspiracy site InfoWars are reportedly perilously close to having their page permanently shut down, as it was reported earlier this year that the official InfoWars page had received two strikes over its content targeting Parkland survivors.

Justin Baragona

Justin Baragona is the founder/publisher of Contemptor and a contributor to The Daily Beast. He was previously the Cable News Correspondent for Mediaite and prior to starting Contemptor, he worked on the editorial staff of PoliticusUSA. During that time, he had his work quoted by USA Today and BBC News, among others. Justin began his published career as a political writer for 411Mania. He resides in St. Louis, MO with his wife and pets.

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