YouTube Bans Neo-Nazi Group Atomwaffen After Daily Beast Report

YouTube banned a neo-Nazi group on Wednesday after previously defending hosting the group that calls for genocide and has been linked to five murders. In a Daily Beast report Monday, a YouTube spokesperson said the Atomwaffen Division’s calls for a “race war” were “free expression” despite the site’s terms of service. Now it has been removed from the site “due to multiple or severe violations of YouTube’s policy prohibiting hate speech.” After initial complaints, the platform had categorized the videos as “offensive,” which limit a post’s sharing and commenting capabilities. The Anti-Defamation League asked Tuesday for YouTube to remove the videos. “These videos are not only disgusting racist content that has no place in our society, but they incite hatred against one religious group—in this case, Jews—therefore violating YouTube’s own Community Guidelines,” Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said. “YouTube should take them down immediately.”