Robert Inlakesh, a British journalist and documentary filmmaker, has seen his entire YouTube account deleted by the platform's parent company, Google. The move was announced in February 2024, without warning or explanation, leaving Inlakesh with no access to his videos, including dozens of livestreams documenting Israel's military occupation of the West Bank.
Inlakesh had been a prominent voice on Palestine and Israel issues for over a decade, capturing video evidence of alleged Israeli human rights abuses, such as police harassment and military violence against Palestinian civilians. His content was not just critical of Israel but also of its treatment of Palestinians in general.
The initial reason given by YouTube for deleting Inlakesh's account was that it violated the platform's community guidelines. However, after months of controversy, Google eventually claimed that Inlakesh's page contained "spam or scam" content. But when The Intercept questioned this claim, YouTube suddenly changed its story, alleging that Inlakesh's account had been terminated due to a connection with an Iranian influence campaign.
Despite being a former employee of the Iranian state-owned media organization Press TV, from 2019 to 2021, Inlakesh maintained that his work was editorially independent and that he never posted content on his YouTube page as part of his work at Press TV. He also pointed out that the account in question contained mostly original content that predated or postdated his time at Press TV.
The deletion of Inlakesh's account is not an isolated incident, but rather part of a broader pattern of censorship and repression by Big Tech companies, particularly Google, against Palestinian voices and criticism of Israel. The company has been accused of deleting the accounts of prominent Palestinian human rights organizations due to U.S. sanctions, and has also censored content critical of the Israeli government.
This incident highlights the dangers of relying on automated systems that flag content as "spam" or "deceptive," particularly when these algorithms are fed by U.S. sanction lists and terror watchlists. It also raises questions about the role of Google and YouTube in policing content, particularly when it comes to issues like Palestine and Israel.
The Intercept's investigation has found that Inlakesh's account was deleted as part of a larger wave of coordinated influence operations backed by Iran. However, despite this revelation, YouTube refused to provide evidence or clarify what specific content flagged the account for deletion.
As journalist Robert Inlakesh noted, "Deleting an entire account is far from what the statutes or regulations ask of U.S. entities." He added that deleting content should be a matter of individual case-by-case review, rather than relying on automated systems that can lead to false positives and censorship.
The incident also raises questions about the role of Big Tech companies in perpetuating pro-Israeli censorship and silencing Palestinian voices. Inlakesh's account was deleted despite containing mostly original content that did not support Iranian interests.
In a broader sense, this incident highlights the need for greater transparency and accountability from tech companies when it comes to content moderation and censorship. The deletion of an entire account raises concerns about the erosion of press freedom and the silencing of marginalized voices.
Inlakesh had been a prominent voice on Palestine and Israel issues for over a decade, capturing video evidence of alleged Israeli human rights abuses, such as police harassment and military violence against Palestinian civilians. His content was not just critical of Israel but also of its treatment of Palestinians in general.
The initial reason given by YouTube for deleting Inlakesh's account was that it violated the platform's community guidelines. However, after months of controversy, Google eventually claimed that Inlakesh's page contained "spam or scam" content. But when The Intercept questioned this claim, YouTube suddenly changed its story, alleging that Inlakesh's account had been terminated due to a connection with an Iranian influence campaign.
Despite being a former employee of the Iranian state-owned media organization Press TV, from 2019 to 2021, Inlakesh maintained that his work was editorially independent and that he never posted content on his YouTube page as part of his work at Press TV. He also pointed out that the account in question contained mostly original content that predated or postdated his time at Press TV.
The deletion of Inlakesh's account is not an isolated incident, but rather part of a broader pattern of censorship and repression by Big Tech companies, particularly Google, against Palestinian voices and criticism of Israel. The company has been accused of deleting the accounts of prominent Palestinian human rights organizations due to U.S. sanctions, and has also censored content critical of the Israeli government.
This incident highlights the dangers of relying on automated systems that flag content as "spam" or "deceptive," particularly when these algorithms are fed by U.S. sanction lists and terror watchlists. It also raises questions about the role of Google and YouTube in policing content, particularly when it comes to issues like Palestine and Israel.
The Intercept's investigation has found that Inlakesh's account was deleted as part of a larger wave of coordinated influence operations backed by Iran. However, despite this revelation, YouTube refused to provide evidence or clarify what specific content flagged the account for deletion.
As journalist Robert Inlakesh noted, "Deleting an entire account is far from what the statutes or regulations ask of U.S. entities." He added that deleting content should be a matter of individual case-by-case review, rather than relying on automated systems that can lead to false positives and censorship.
The incident also raises questions about the role of Big Tech companies in perpetuating pro-Israeli censorship and silencing Palestinian voices. Inlakesh's account was deleted despite containing mostly original content that did not support Iranian interests.
In a broader sense, this incident highlights the need for greater transparency and accountability from tech companies when it comes to content moderation and censorship. The deletion of an entire account raises concerns about the erosion of press freedom and the silencing of marginalized voices.
! you're basically silencing robert inlakesh a british journalist who's been reporting truth to power for years...like, i get that there was some controversy but deleting an entire account? that's just not fair 
. it's like you're trying to hide something. the fact that you can't even give evidence on why his account got deleted is super suspicious 
. what's next gonna be the deletion of other accounts because of some connection with iran or another country? no way man, we need more transparency and accountability from these big tech companies 
. they're supposed to be promoting free speech not suppressing it 
It's like they're trying to sweep this under the rug, and we shouldn't be buying it. We need greater transparency & accountability from tech companies when it comes to content moderation & censorship. This isn't just about press freedom; it's also about silencing marginalized voices who are trying to tell their own stories 
This is a pretty concerning development, especially considering Inlakesh's track record of producing high-quality content critiquing Israeli policies 
. I get that Google's automated systems need to be improved, but it feels like they're being overly aggressive in this case 
. It's not just about the Iranian connection; it's about the lack of transparency and clear guidelines for what constitutes "spam" or "scam" content 
. This sets a bad precedent, especially when you consider all the other Palestinian voices that might be silenced 
.
. I mean, you gotta wonder why Google would just delete his account without warning or explanation 
. And then they come up with this new excuse about it being part of some Iranian influence campaign 
. Newsflash: censorship doesn't work 
. And it's not like Inlakesh was posting some super incriminating content that would make anyone suspicious 
. It's a perfect storm of censorship, repression, and Big Tech companies playing politics 
. We need more transparency and accountability from these companies, pronto 
!
this whole thing is so messed up tbh
. It just doesn't seem fair that his channel was deleted without any clear explanation, especially when you consider all the work he's done documenting human rights abuses in Israel and Palestine. I think it's a classic case of Big Tech silencing marginalized voices and perpetuating pro-Israeli censorship 
.
. And now, because of a connection with Iran, he gets deleted altogether? It just doesn't seem right 
.
. We can't just rely on automated systems that can lead to false positives and censorship 
.
to hear that Robert Inlakesh's YouTube account got deleted without warning or explanation... 
This whole thing smells fishy to me. 
Big Tech companies gotta take responsibility for their actions and be more transparent about what they're doing with our online content. 
. Like, we all know that Inlakesh was a thorn in Israel's side, but does it really have to go as far as deleting the entire account? It just smells like they're trying to silence him and others who dare speak out against Israel 
.
This is a huge deal because it raises so many questions about the role of Big Tech in shaping our public discourse.
Like, did you guys even investigate before just deleting his content? 
This is getting outta hand 
They're supposed to be neutral platforms, not propaganda machines. And what's with all these "automated systems" that are more prone to errors than a Kardashian family reunion? 
It's like they think we're too stupid to figure out the difference between original content and, say, "sponsored posts."
We need more transparency and accountability from these companies when it comes to content moderation and censorship.
This is what happens when Big Tech thinks they can just delete anyone who's critical of Israel 
.
, but this is just wild.
. I mean, who comes up with this stuff? It's like they're trying to silence Palestinian voices and criticism of Israel 
.