November 5, 2025
Click. Delete. Debate.
YouTube Erased More Than 700 Videos Documenting Israeli Human Rights Violations
Internet cries “censorship” as users race to save videos and ditch Big Tech
TLDR: YouTube deleted channels from three Palestinian rights groups, removing 700+ videos, citing U.S. sanctions linked to the International Criminal Court. Commenters erupted over free speech and “erasing history,” while others shouted “mirror it!” and pushed alternatives like PeerTube, turning compliance talk into a full-on censorship brawl.
Boom: YouTube wiped the channels of three Palestinian human rights groups — Al-Haq, Al Mezan, and PCHR — taking more than 700 videos with them after U.S. sanctions tied to the International Criminal Court. The comments went nuclear. One top reply warned that if nobody defends the First Amendment, it’s “just paper,” accusing the platform of helping bury evidence of alleged war crimes. Another deadpan quip nailed the mood: “Freedom to delete and rewrite history.”
Not everyone just raged. The fix-it crowd jumped in: “Did anyone mirror the videos?” Cue the decentralizers: “That’s why we have PeerTube and personal sites,” scolding folks for trading the open web for easy convenience. Meanwhile, legal nerds and rights advocates pointed out YouTube says it’s following sanctions rules, but critics argue information is specifically exempt — meaning this looks less like compliance and more like censorship cosplay. The vibe: a messy mash-up of panic archiving, anti–Big Tech energy, and constitutional dread. As one commenter summed up, the internet shouldn’t be one company’s trash bin. YouTube’s move, confirmed under Google’s sanctions policy, turned a dry sanctions story into a full-blown free speech brawl — with users posting receipts, hunting mirrors, and threatening to go off-YouTube for good.
Key Points
- •YouTube deleted the channels of Al-Haq, Al Mezan, and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, removing over 700 videos.
- •YouTube confirmed to The Intercept that the deletions followed U.S. State Department sanctions related to ICC work.
- •Google cited its sanctions and trade compliance policy as the basis for removing the accounts.
- •Al Mezan’s channel was terminated on October 7 without prior notice; Al-Haq’s channel was deleted on October 3 with a guideline violation message.
- •Human rights advocates criticized the removals, arguing that informational content should be exempt from the statute underpinning the ICC sanctions.