YouTube Continues to Remove Videos Denying the Armenian Genocide

The Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's communications office recently opened an exhibition in Istanbul regarding "diplomats killed by Armenian terrorists" in response to the anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. The head of public relations for Erdoğan's administration, Fahrettin Altun, made an anti-Armenian speech at the exhibition. YouTube has recently removed the video of Altun's speech, citing that it contains hate speech.

This decision by the YouTube administration has caused a significant uproar in Turkey and has greatly upset Altun. In response to the incident, Altun expressed his discontent on Twitter, emphasizing that the removal of the video is hypocrisy and that the company is operating under double standards. He stated, "YouTube, which ignores hate speech against Islam and Muslims while easily facilitating the propaganda of terrorist organizations, considers our statements about the criminals who murdered our Turkish diplomats as a hate crime. Like it or not, we will state at every opportunity that terrorism has no religion, language, or race. Once again, we have noticed that, as in every field, we need local and national platforms in the media and communications sector. Long live the truth," he wrote.

While indirectly boycotting the YouTube video platform, Altun referred to the need for the establishment of "local and national media platforms." It is noteworthy that this is not the first case of YouTube removing deceitful videos related to the Armenian Genocide. YouTube has previously removed videos containing hate speech about the Armenian Genocide from Turkish officials and citizens. Recent examples include statements from retired Turkish admiral Cihat Yaycı and nationalist MP Mahmut Koçak, both of whom denied the Armenian Genocide and made anti-Armenian remarks. Yaycı denied the fact of the Armenian Genocide in a video, instead claiming that "the Armenians killed Muslims," while MP Koçak criticized U.S. President Joe Biden for acknowledging the Armenian Genocide.