YouTube Will Ban Alleged Whistleblower’s Name, Use Machine Learning to Censor

Google-owned video platform YouTube has followed Facebook in saying it will also ban mentions of the name of the alleged Ukraine whistleblower, Eric Ciaramella.

In a comment to CNN, a representative of YouTube said that the company would work to scrub mentions of the alleged whistleblower’s name from its platform, although the statement leaves it unclear whether this involves banning whole videos or surgically removing parts of them.

YouTube said it would use a “combination of machine learning and human review” to enact its censorship.

Via CNN:

A YouTube spokesperson said videos mentioning the potential whistleblower’s name would also be removed. The spokesperson said the company would use a combination of machine learning and human review to scrub the content. The removals, the spokesperson added, would affect the titles and descriptions of videos as well as the video’s actual content.

This means that Silicon Valley is coming closer to marching in lockstep on the issue. YouTube’s move came after Facebook declared it would also ban mentions of the alleged whistleblower, even though his name has been made public by multiple national figures and media outlets, including Breitbart News.

As Breitbart News reported earlier today:

Multiple other publishers have named the alleged whistleblower or reported on outlets naming him, including Heavy.com, the Washington Examiner, The Federalist, and the Western Journal. Saagar Enjeti, Chief Washington Correspondent for The Hill, also tweeted the alleged whistleblower’s name.

Radio hosts Mark Levin and Glenn Beck, Students for Trump co-chair Ryan Fournier, former Deputy Assistant to the President Sebastian Gorka, bestselling author Dinesh D’Souza, One America News host Jack Posobiec, and TownHall.com senior columnist Kurt Schlichter are among the other public figures and major media personalities who have also named the alleged whistleblower.

It isn’t only conservatives reporting on Ciaramella. New York Magazine and HuffPost contributor Yashar Ali identified Ciaramella as the alleged whistleblower in a since-deleted tweet. Ali claimed to have confirmed the identity with three sources. Facebook’s requirement to revise its policy on Ciaramella appears to already have been met.

Responding to Breitbart News’ request for comment, a representative of Google pointed to the statement YouTube gave to CNN.

Are you an insider at Reddit or any other tech company who wants to confidentially reveal wrongdoing or political bias at your company? Reach out to Allum Bokhari at his secure email address allumbokhari@protonmail.com. 

Allum Bokhari is the senior technology correspondent at Breitbart News.