Sen. Rand Paul suspended from YouTube for false COVID-19 claims

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE/Gray News) - Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., has been suspended from YouTube after making controversial comments about COVID-19 and masks in a video last week, WAVE reported.

In the video Paul posted a few days ago, which was later removed, he claimed that “cloth masks don’t work” and most over-the-counter masks don’t prevent infection, according to Forbes.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has long reported that both masks offer some protection from COVID.

The senator blasted YouTube for deleting his video, saying it censored his content.

“I think this kind of censorship is very dangerous, incredibly anti-free speech, and truly anti-progress of science, which involves skepticism and argumentation to arrive at the truth,” Paul said in a statement.

YouTube argued Paul violated its COVID-19 medical misinformation rules.

The site has threatened Paul with a two-week suspension if another video is removed. If a third is deleted, he will likely be permanently banned.

Paul’s YouTube account is still visible.

This comes as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., is serving a weeklong Twitter suspension for violating its terms of service by making false claims about the COVID-19 vaccines.

Copyright 2021 WAVE via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Gray Media Group, Inc., contributed to this report.