MEDIA – Setteottobre Association launches appeal after YouTube censorship

The video exposed the inhumane conditions in which two Israeli hostages were held in Gaza. “The images spread across the media, but YouTube censored us by closing our channel,” reported Stefano Parisi, president of the Setteottobre (October 7) Association. He claimed that the platform accused the association of “supporting terrorism” after it published a video documenting the detention of two Israelis by Hamas for nearly two years. “That video is widely circulating, and important media outlets have published it as well. We shared it for journalistic purposes and included the appropriate warnings. It is strange that we were the only ones censored.” He said the platform might have taken action following claims “from people challenging our work. This led to the initial block. We appealed, but a YouTube representative told us that they would not give us the channel back.”

The association, established in the aftermath of the October 7 attacks, launched a petition requesting the immediate reactivation of the channel and plans to appeal to the Italian Communications Regulatory Authority (AGCOM). “Previously, we had to modify or remove content on different platforms, but there has never been a total censorship like this. This has caused significant damage to us. All of our protest and initiative videos have been published on YouTube. The material has been recovered. “We are now considering another way to share our videos to avoid being blocked or censored. What happened is incredible, though.” “While we have been blocked for publishing an authentic document in the public domain, antisemitic content filled with hatred for Israel remains online.” Therefore, the appeal is to support “the Setteottobre Association in its battle for freedom of information.”

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