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Is YouTube a Platform for Terrorist Organizations?

Has YouTube has become an outlet for terrorist propaganda?  Terrorist Organizations are now turning to websites such as YouTube, the world’s largest video-sharing Website, to post their videos.  Recently there have been numerous videos featuring Anwar Al-Awlaki, dubbed the “bin-Laden of the Internet.”  His videos promote extremist ideology and attempt to recruit a new generation of terrorist.

YouTube stated to CNN that its community guidelines “prohibit videos that promote dangerous or illegal activities (including bomb-making, sniper attacks, or other terrorist acts), contain hate speech, and videos that are posted with the purpose of inciting others to commit specific, serio

us acts of violence.  In addition, we remove all videos and terminate any account known to be registered by a member of a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and used in an official capacity to further the interests of the FTO. We review all videos brought to our attention through community flagging 7 days a week, and routinely remove content that violates our policies, usually in under an hour.”

YouTube has stated that, “Our community has been highly effective in policing the site, and YouTube removes videos if our community flags them as inappropriate.”  Is this a potential debate regarding free speech?  Should YouTube ban all videos that are posted from terrorist organizations or only those that promote violence and terrorism?  Will YouTube also be deleting videos that promote hatred towards Muslims?

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