YouTube is regularly used by followers of the QAnon conspiracy theory as a platform to radicalize new members and widely share misinformation. But during a recent interview on CNN, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki refused to commit to more broadly banning QAnon content from the platform, claiming instead that the company has removed “a lot of it” already. In investigating YouTube’s enforcement claim, Media Matters has identified 17 large QAnon YouTube channels with over 4.7 million subscribers combined containing videos that explicitly violate the platform’s existing terms of use.
As first reported by CNN, Wojcicki talked up YouTube’s removal of QAnon videos without giving many specifics. “We also have already removed a lot of it, in terms of hundreds of thousands of videos because it could violate other parts of our policies: hate, harassment, COVID information,” she said. “There's been quite a lot of videos that have been taken down or the views have been reduced."
This claim follows a similar tactic used by Facebook in explaining its belated decision to remove QAnon content: loudly announcing the removal without actually taking strong community enforcement actions.
When asked why there was resistance to outright banning QAnon content on YouTube, Wojcicki replied: “I think with every policy, it has to be defined very clearly. Like what does that exactly mean, a QAnon group exactly?”
The channels we defined as “QAnon channels” support and peddle claims consistent with the QAnon conspiracy theory to millions of users. Media Matters identified the channels below by searching common QAnon terminology such as “WWG1WGA” (a QAnon slogan meaning “Where We Go One, We Go All”), “Red October,” “the storm,” or simply “QAnon.” (“Red October” and “the storm” both refer to the central QAnon prediction that President Donald Trump will be ordering mass arrests of his political enemies, members of the so-called “deep state,” who will then stand trial and face execution for treason and other supposed crimes.)
YouTube’s hesitation to quickly condemn QAnon and remove content affiliated with the conspiracy theory should not be overlooked. For years, the company has enabled QAnon content creators to radicalize other users and spread misinformation campaigns. The FBI even classified QAnon as a domestic terrorist threat last year following several arrests and incidents of violence, so there is no room for YouTube to deny that the conspiracy theory is dangerous.
Of the 17 QAnon YouTube channels identified by Media Matters, many appear to contain multiple examples of misinformation that explicitly violates YouTube’s community guidelines by circulating false and misleading claims about the election, mail-in voting, the coronavirus pandemic, and more. Other YouTube videos from some of the QAnon channels shown below even appear to promote violence. These 17 channels combined have more than 4.7 million subscribers.
YouTube’s complete condemnation and removal of QAnon content is far overdue.
