On April 13, video hosting platform Rumble revealed how they were being pressured by the media organisations to censor content like YouTube. In response to an email by mainstream media outlet Goble and Mail’s journalist Joe Castaldo, Rumble called the media organisations and big tech companies arrogant and said they think they have the power to “decide for the public what information they can and cannot be trusted to hear and what views they can and cannot express.”
Castaldo had sent an email to Rumble CEO Chris Pavlovski on April 11. Castaldo asked him why Rumble was not restricting pro-Russian content in the first email. He questioned, even though governments and other observers have branded Russian state-owned news network RT as a Russian propaganda outlet and big techs like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter and Spotify have blocked or limited it, why Rumble was not restricting them.
1/2 Here are emails we received from the @globeandmail, demanding to know why we aren’t dutifully copying YouTube’s censorship. It is now common that we receive pressure from journalists demanding that we censor more. See the next tweet for Rumble’s response: pic.twitter.com/W4dcAQs8mQ
— Rumble (@rumblevideo) April 13, 2022
He also pointed toward creators like Stew Peters and Alex Jones on Rumble, who publish “propaganda” content on the same lines as RT with respect to Ukraine. He said, “This includes videos claiming attacks on Ukrainian towns/cities could be false flags, downplaying civilian casualties in Ukraine, and that Russians are fighting Nazis in Ukraine.” He asked if Rumble had any plans to put policies similar to YouTube in place to restrict the reach of such content.
In a follow-up email, he pointed out how some “influential” personalities like the CEO of Countering Digital Hate and an assistant professor at Simon Fraser University were critical of Rumble for allowing Russian content on their platform. As per the email, SFU assistant professor Ahmed Al-Rawi said the business model of Rumble relied on “fringe groups who disseminate conspiracy theories and disinformation under the pretext of freedom of expression.” On the other hand, CDH’s CEO said Rumble was doing a big favour to Putin by “hooking its users up to a steady drip feed of Kremlin lies and propaganda”.
He added as RT’s reach has been restricted by other platforms, it has directed its users to Rumble, resulting in its followership on the platform by multiple folds.
Rumble lashed out at media houses
In its ‘uncensored’ reply to the journalist, Rumble called the media houses arrogant. They said, “There is a reason the public has radically turned against both the corporate media (such as your outlet) and Big Tech: because you have arrogantly claimed for yourselves the power to decide for the public what information they can and cannot be trusted to hear and what views they can and cannot express. By stark contrast, the reason Rumble is growing so rapidly is that we trust adults to make decisions for themselves about what ideas they can express, and we trust them to make up their own minds after hearing all sides.”
2/2 Here is Rumble’s response: pic.twitter.com/ZUcN6qo7yG
— Rumble (@rumblevideo) April 13, 2022
In a LinkedIn post, Rumble’s CEO Pavlovski said, “It is now common that we receive pressure from journalists demanding that we censor more.”
Rumble is not alone
Rumble is not the only platform that does not walk on the path of media giants. Gab and Parler are among those platforms that believe in letting their users decide the kind of content they want to see. These platforms have freedom of expression as the base of their operations. Media and so-called anti-hate groups have accused these platforms of allowing conspirational and far-right content.
