YouTube deleted the account of independent British journalist Robert Inlakesh in February 2024, citing "severe or repeated violations of our Community Guidelines." However, nearly two years later, YouTube claimed that his account was deleted due to a connection to an Iranian influence campaign. The company initially stated that his page contained spam or scam content but failed to provide evidence to support this claim.
Inlakesh had worked for the London office of the Iranian state-owned media organization Press TV from 2019 to 2021, but he maintains that his association with Press TV should not have led to the erasure of his entire YouTube account. Most of the videos on his channel were posted before or after his time at Press TV.
The company's inconsistency in its explanations for Inlakesh's account termination has raised concerns about censorship and pro-Israel bias among Big Tech companies. A public Google document from the month Inlakesh's account was deleted noted that the company had recently closed more than 30 accounts allegedly linked to Iran, with content critical of Israel and its war on Gaza.
Google has a long-standing practice of censoring Palestinian content or content critical of the Israeli government, often relying on automated systems that flag content. The company deploys various methods to censor content, including teams of experts who manually review content and reviews of U.S. sanctions and foreign terror organization lists.
The deletion of Inlakesh's account has had significant consequences for his journalism career. He lost access to his archive of documents and writings, and he is unable to make new Google accounts, preventing him from sharing his video journalism on the largest English-language video platform.
Critics argue that such actions are not only unjust but also undermine the principles of free speech and press freedom. "What are the implications of this for other journalists?" Inlakesh asked The Intercept. "To do this and not to provide me with any information — you're basically saying I'm a foreign agent of Iran for working with an outlet; that's the implication. You have to provide some evidence for that."
The incident highlights the need for greater transparency and accountability among Big Tech companies, particularly in their handling of sensitive issues related to politics and national security.
Inlakesh had worked for the London office of the Iranian state-owned media organization Press TV from 2019 to 2021, but he maintains that his association with Press TV should not have led to the erasure of his entire YouTube account. Most of the videos on his channel were posted before or after his time at Press TV.
The company's inconsistency in its explanations for Inlakesh's account termination has raised concerns about censorship and pro-Israel bias among Big Tech companies. A public Google document from the month Inlakesh's account was deleted noted that the company had recently closed more than 30 accounts allegedly linked to Iran, with content critical of Israel and its war on Gaza.
Google has a long-standing practice of censoring Palestinian content or content critical of the Israeli government, often relying on automated systems that flag content. The company deploys various methods to censor content, including teams of experts who manually review content and reviews of U.S. sanctions and foreign terror organization lists.
The deletion of Inlakesh's account has had significant consequences for his journalism career. He lost access to his archive of documents and writings, and he is unable to make new Google accounts, preventing him from sharing his video journalism on the largest English-language video platform.
Critics argue that such actions are not only unjust but also undermine the principles of free speech and press freedom. "What are the implications of this for other journalists?" Inlakesh asked The Intercept. "To do this and not to provide me with any information — you're basically saying I'm a foreign agent of Iran for working with an outlet; that's the implication. You have to provide some evidence for that."
The incident highlights the need for greater transparency and accountability among Big Tech companies, particularly in their handling of sensitive issues related to politics and national security.
. I mean, come on! They're always talking about how they want to promote free speech, but when a journalist who actually reports on real stuff gets deleted, it's all about censorship 
. And now he can't even make new accounts or share his work anymore? That's just not right 
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. The fact that they're flagging content critical of Israel and its war on Gaza is super suspicious 
. We need more transparency and accountability from these big tech companies, especially when it comes to national security stuff 
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. It's clear that Inlakesh was targeted because of his reporting on a sensitive topic. The system is broken, and it's time for some serious change 
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like whats going on with youtube rn? theyre just deleting accounts left and right without even explainin whats goin on... robert inlakesh was a journalist tryin to share his perspective and now hes been silenced 
its not cool when big tech companies play it safe and dont wanna rock the boat... google should be held accountable for this 
whats next? censorship on every platform?! we need to stay vigilant and demand transparency 
Inlakesh worked for press tv like 5 yrs ago & most of his vids were posted before/after that... seems fishy to me 
& btw google's history on censoring palestinian content is super sketchy 
. They can't even give a clear reason why he got suspended 
. First it's "severe or repeated violations" but then it's some Iranian influence campaign? 
. This is exactly why we need more transparency and accountability from Big Tech companies 
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It's clear that Big Tech companies are playing a huge role in censoring Palestinian content and pro-Israel critiques, which is just not right 
. It's like they're trying to stifle free speech and press freedom - not cool, guys 
They've got to come clean about what's really going on behind the scenes. Inlakesh's right to know why he was deleted and what evidence they used to justify it. This is some serious Big Brother stuff 
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. And what really gets me is that YouTube is just throwing around these vague terms like "Iranian influence campaign" without any actual proof 
. I mean, come on! If you're gonna do this, at least have the guts to back it up with some solid evidence 
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. I'm talking about people like Glenn Greenwald and Jeremy Scahill, who have been speaking truth to power for years 
. What if YouTube starts taking down their accounts too? It's a slippery slope, folks 
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. We need transparency and accountability, not vague corporate-speak and arbitrary deletion of accounts 
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. If YouTube is gonna go after Robert Inlakesh, it's gotta be for something more concrete than "severe or repeated violations" 
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they need to come clean about their methods or else people will be like "omg google/ youtube is so biased" 
YouTube deleting his account without a clear reason is super shady. Interesting how they changed their story too - it's like they're trying to hide something 
this is not just a case of bad judgment but a clear example of the problem with big tech's bias against certain groups 
google's practices are already suspicious but when they start erasing people's content and careers, it gets really ugly 
it's so frustrating when a platform like YouTube deletes someone's account without clear reasons or proof... i mean, what if Inlakesh was unfairly labelled as some kind of agent? that's not fair at all 
. Big tech companies gotta be more transparent & accountable, especially when it comes to national security & censorship 
after deleting so many other accounts in a similar "influenced by iran" scenario. doesn't anyone want to know why they're doing this?
And them Google docs showin' 30 accounts deleted in the same time frame? That's just suspicious, innit? 
. I'm not buying it. If they really thought his videos were spam or scam content, why didn't they show any evidence?