YouTube has penalized Christian media network, theDove, by deleting its channel and removing all of its content, estimated at 15,600 videos. TheDove is one of several ministries around the world navigating penalties due to political and religious statements, particularly ones that pertain to the COVID-19 pandemic and the LGBTQ community.
“We are dealing with two fairly significant law firms, one in Washington D.C. and one in California, to see if there’s any recourse we may have to retrieve our 15,000 videos,” said Perry Atkinson, theDove’s president and CEO. “We are looking into three other platforms as to whether or not we can re-establish a way to distribute our videos.”
YouTube’s decision was part of its “three-strikes system.” If users violate the social media giant’s community guidelines, YouTube issues the channel a strike. A first strike results in YouTube imposing one week of serious limitations, including not allowing the channel to upload content. If a second strike occurs within 90 days, YouTube restricts the channel from uploading content for two weeks. Each strike has 90 days to expire. After the third strike, the channel is removed completely.
