YouTube said that the news coverage of the Manipur incident has been found to be violative of YouTube’s Community Guidelines.
The video of a live debate hosted by the Kannada channel Vartha Bharati has been taken down by YouTube. The debate was regarding the sexual assault of two women in Manipur, which YouTube claimed was inappropriate for its audience. The debate was part of the programme The Big Debate which was titled 'Naked Parade of Women in Manipur; Nation Stunned.' The debate was aired at 8 pm on Thursday, July 20. A day after, YouTube made the video 'private (blocked),' and restricted its viewership.
Vartha Bharati protested the decision of YouTube saying that the debate did not feature any videos or photos which featured the survivors but showed only images of the offenders.
Journalist Barkha Dutt, who runs digital news organisation Mojo Story, had also protested YouTube’s blanket ban after YouTube took a similar action against her debate video too. “Extremely unfortunate, unfair and antithetical to all principles of Free Speech. Our reportage on #Manipur blocked by @YouTube on orders from @GoI_MeitY - without dialogue, transparency or feedback,” she said.
On Thursday, July 20, YouTube issued a statement to news organizations, asking them to refrain from using any violent and graphic footage associated with the sexual assault incident on its platform. The video sharing website said that the news coverage of the incident which includes the footage of the crime, “has been found to be violative of YouTube’s Community Guidelines.”
“Per our policies, violent or gory content intended to shock or disgust viewers, or content encouraging others to commit violent acts, are not allowed on YouTube. Note that we do not allow the following kinds of content even if there is EDSA - educational, documentary, scientific, or artistic context provided: Violent physical sexual assaults (video, still imagery, or audio).”
YouTube said that its policy also applies to video descriptions, thumbnails, comments, live streams, and any other YouTube product or feature. “Please note these policies also apply to external links in your content. This can include clickable URLs, verbally directing users to other sites in video, as well as other forms.” YouTube asked news organisations against using footage of the assault while reporting on violent physical sexual assaults or perpetrator footage of violence.
YouTube issued this statement and took down videos related to the Manipur incident following the Union government’s direction to social media companies against circulating the horrific video. Vartha Bharati said that they made an appeal to YouTube requesting the blockade to be lifted on the video, but their appeal was declined.
Read: YouTube instructs news organizations against sharing Manipur sexual assault videos
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