Saying it wants to stop conspiracy theories used to justify harassment and violence, YouTube yesterday banned QAnon channels from its platform–two of which were followed by Colorado congressional candidate Lauren Boebert.
Before the general election, Boebert followed multiple QAnon channels, including “Official QAnon Movement” and “Destroying the Illusion,” both of which have been removed by YouTube.
After defeating U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton (R-CO) in the GOP primary, it was revealed that Boebert had made sympathetic comments about QAnon.
When questioned about those comments, Boebert said she didn’t “follow” QAnon–but it was quickly revealed that she was, in fact, following multiple QAnon accounts on YouTube.
Boebert then deleted her YouTube account and other social media platforms, as first reported by the Colorado Times Recorder.
After deleting QAnon channels, YouTube, which is owned by Google, stated in a blog post, “Today, we are taking another step in our efforts to curb hate and harassment by removing more conspiracy theory content used to justify real-world violence.”
Boebert’s campaign communications director recently stated her belief, which isn’t supported by any credible information, that Google is targeting the email accounts of conservatives in a “nefarious” conspiracy, pushing Boebert’s email messages into spam folders.
YouTube’s deletion of some of Boebert’s QAnon channels came on the same day President Trump refused to condemn the conspiracy theory, which centers around the belief that government workers are out to get Trump and includes the idea that a Satanic cult of celebrity and Democratic pedophiles wield wide power.
Conspiracy theory experts see YouTube as essential in the growth and spread of QAnon, as numerous videos, including documentaries and talk shows, were posted on the platform that were seen by millions of viewers.
Boebert’s campaign didn’t respond to an email asking about the deletion of her YouTube account–and how the apparent fact that she subscribed to QAnon channels on YouTube squares with the fact that she’s insists she’s not a follower of QAnon.
