YouTube has banned a number of Syrian state-run and pro-government channels, including ones belonging to the Syrian Presidency, the Syrian Defense Ministry and the news agency SANA. The reason provided was that these accounts allegedly violate “YouTube’s Terms of Service”.
This move can be considered as another attempt to suppress non-mainstream reporting on the ongoing conflict. Some Syrian experts even claimed that these were another sign of preparations for a staged chemical attack in Idlib and then a US-led military strike on Syrian government forces.
#Youtube shuts down all pro Syrian channels including, Sama TV, Syrian MoD, Sana news agency, Syrian presidency pic.twitter.com/D0LiPhdKmo
— H.K ?? (@Ibra_Joudeh) September 8, 2018
Over the past few days, multiple reports have appeared in the mainsteam media that the US is considering military options in Syria and that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has even ordered chemical attacks in the province of Idlib.
These reports as well as the censorship against pro-government channels on YouTube are a part of the ongoing large-scale propaganda campaign carried out by the US-led bloc against the Syrian-Iranian-Russian alliance. This campaign has become especially obvious amid the ongoing peraparations of the Syrian Army to deliver a blow to terrorist groups operating in the province of Idlib.
#YouTube shutting down #Syria govt channels bad, whatever the reason.
Best case, it's just more in the growing wave of online #censorship and attacks on #FreeSpeech.
Worst case, there's a new #WhiteHelmets chemical weapons #FalseFlag incoming & they're preempting refutation.
— OffGuardian (@OffGuardian0) September 8, 2018
