YouTube removes audio copies of neo-Nazi books
CEP says that it has documented 32 extremist entities—21 individuals and 11 organizations—with ties to Siege. Of these 21 individuals, nine have been involved in acts of violence, four have been involved in specific murders, and four have been involved in threats or acts of terrorism. Several of these involve members of the AWD.
On 2 January 2018, AWD member Sam Woodward allegedly murdered Blaze Bernstein, a gay Jewish college student, which was celebrated by AWD. AWD co-founder Brandon Russell is serving a five-year prison sentence for stockpiling explosives to carry out attacks on U.S. infrastructure. Another co-founder, Devon Arthurs, killed two of his roommates.
CEP notes that, previously, it spotlighted Siege’s continued influence online and its call for violence, radicalization, and terrorism 26 years after its publication. It was discovered that Siege was still available on several websites, including the Internet Archive, WordPress, and YouTube. The release elicited a response from YouTube, in which the website cited familiar and tired platitudes of protecting free speech as a justification for leaving the audiobook online. In response, Ibsen stated that, “Google’s decision [was] patently absurd and emblematic of the typical reactionary half measures we see from tech companies in response to embarrassing revelations in the media.”
YouTube Removes Audiobook Copies of Siege, The Turner Diaries
CEP on Thursday said that copies of Audiobook uploads of the neo-Nazi manifesto Siege and The Turner Diaries, a so-called “Handbook for White Victory” for white nationalists, seem to have been taken down by YouTube. The apparent removal of these videos represents a policy reversal for YouTube, which in February stated Siege videos did not violate its Terms of Service.
As of February 2019, the “Read Siege” YouTube channel hosted 48 videos and had received more than 30,000 views since its creation in 2017.
“It has taken years for YouTube to recognize that the violence propagated by Siege and The Turner Diaries is inappropriate for its platform,” said Ibsen. “The company’s latest effort to remove these notorious pieces of white supremacist content indicates that YouTube is reluctantly acknowledging the real-world harms linked to this material. The removal of Siege and The Turner Diaries audiobooks also follows YouTube’s new policy announced last month in which the company promised to take down more neo-Nazi, white supremacist, and other hateful content. It is important that lawmakers and the public at large continue to hold YouTube accountable, helping to ensure that the company delivers on its commitments to public safety and security. Tech companies cannot be allowed to shirk responsibility for failing to remove extremist and terrorist content from their sites.”
Separately, in The Turner Diaries’ Ties To Extremists, CEP has documented the book’s role in the deaths of 248 individuals. The most deadly of these attacks was the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, which killed 168. Police found a copy of the book in the car of bomber Timothy McVeigh. He also reportedly sold the book at gun shows. Last month, CEP called for YouTube to remove The Turner Diaries from its website after the company announced its intention to begin removing certain videos from its website.
— Read more in CEP’s Siege’s Ties To Extremists; Extremism Spotlight on Siege; Extremism Spotlight on The Turner Diaries; and see CEP’s resource, The Turner Diaries’ Ties To Extremists.
