For 8 years, the online presence of Anwar al-Awlaki has helped to create a new generation of American terrorists. Youtube has allowed for hundreds of hours of jihadist propaganda to be uploaded and remain on their platform. Now, under criticism from the government and other anti terrorist groups, Youtube has decided to remove around two thirds of the jihadist's content.
Do you think that the removal of such videos has occurred too late and that the damage has already been done? What could be some reasons that Youtube did not remove all of his content? Do you think that it is right that Youtube removed these provocative videos?
9 comments:
I think that part of the reason why YouTube was very slow to remove the videos of Anwar al-Awlaki, was because he started off as a mainstream imam with great following, according to the article. I believe his initial content simply contained teachings about Islam, and thus YouTube definitely would not want to take it down because they should not be biased against any religion. I am just surprised that they did not care to take down his content after he began to actively promote jihad. In the article it says that he had "a 12-minute talk calling on Western Muslims to join the jihad in the Middle East or carry out attacks at home" which wasn't taken down until last year. That sort of rhetoric is clearly threatening, and thus it is quite puzzling why YouTube allowed it to stay on its channel. However, the sad thing, is that people can still find these "call to jihad" videos on other sites, as mentioned by the article. Thus, simply taking down these inflammatory videos from YouTube is not enough. It is a good step, but a lot more needs to be done to deter people from joining terrorist groups.
I agree that the jihadist videos ought to be taken offline. However, one reason that not all of them are removed may be due to free speech amendments, which allow people to share all of their viewpoints. However, the validity of such defense is questionable, especially considering that YouTube is a global platform and the 1st amendment rights only apply within the United States. Nevertheless, it is definitely positive that the presence of the famous extremist has been reduced, since now we live in a potentially safer environment. YouTube ought to shut down these videos, since first amendment rights do not protect speech which incites violence.
I think that YouTube did take their time in removing the videos and that it was too late. These videos have been around for too long, and people have already watched and been exposed to them. I think it took them a long time in taking them down because they may have not known his main reason for publishing the video at first. While they have now taken down the videos, I don't know if it will change much as the videos gave already been watched by many. It's a step in the right direction, but they need more in order to make a bigger impact.
I agree that the videos should be taken down, but that YouTube took a while to review and actually take them down due to the First Amendment. I believe this is a very controversial issue because it has to do with both freedom of speech and what people think to be possible dangerous and threatening messages being exposed. YouTube had to make a decision that could have huge push back so it is understandable why they took their time to take down the videos. However, I believe even with the videos taken down, jihadists can still get exposure to citizens globally through other means without the help of YouTube.
I think that the videos should have been taken down sooner because it is a main outlet to gain supporters. It was right for Youtube to take down the videos, because in a way it represents themselves, and their own platform. Like everyone said above the main reason for the hesitation could be First Amendment right, this motive helps push America in the right direction
I agree that YouTube was too late in taking down the videos because many people have already viewed it. But I can understand the reasons why YouTube might have waited to take the video down, for YouTube is used as a by people all over the world and are free to express themselves. But I do think YouTube did the right thing by taking precautionary measures.
I believe that the videos should have been taken down a while before because the increase of followers as a result could have been prevented. Though first amendment rights are often cited to protect all viewpoints, it would not be applicable in this case since it is clear that these videos have the purpose of inciting violence, posing a direct and dangerous threat to our country. Therefore, I don’t believe that the protection of the freedom of speech applies in this case. Thus, Youtube removing these videos is right and ought to be done.
I agree with many of the previous comments that this is an issue about the first amendment. II also think that the reason YouTube has taken so long to remove these videos is because it sets a president. (As far as I know) YouTube doesn't have very tight restrictions on the type of content it allows. There are people from the extreme right and the extreme left in this country who post videos and have a following, and while neither YouTube nor the general public may believe or agree with their position and what they advocate for, if YouTube were to take those videos down, it would call into question where they draw the line for the type of content they allow. Obviously in this case they drew the line at the possible spread of terrorism, but it will be interesting to see if they continue to take down more videos in the future.
I definitely agree that it was right for Youtube to take down the comments, which should have been done a long time ago based on the surge in terrorism that has occurred over the past few years. As many have stated before, I think that the reason that Youtube did not take down these videos earlier is that it could have been seen as a violation of the first amendment, as it somewhat restricts the expression of a group of people. Additionally, the goal of Youtube since its beginning has been to serve as a platform for expression for all, so it is possible that they could have been hesitant to take down the videos because it is infringes expression. On another note, there is also no clear cause and effect relationship between the emergence of these videos and the rise of terrorist incidents, so it is possible that Youtube did not feel like they previously had the grounds to take down the videos. In light of recent terrorist events, however, it is likely that Youtube felt like it had to take action and remove the videos, which in my opinion is certainly the correct thing to do.
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