Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro has accused The New York Times and Media Matters of pressuring YouTube into taking action against conservative voices just days before the presidential election.
Here's how it all went down:
A New York Times reporter, Grant, contacted Shapiro requesting comment for an article about political commentary on YouTube. He cited research from Media Matters identifying "286 YouTube videos" containing alleged election misinformation.
Grant also said that his article would rely on analysis from Media Matters for America. Grant said, “Researchers identified videos posted by you in those four months that contain election misinformation. We feature a clip of you saying [that] your party rigged many of the voting rules in advance of the election in order to ensure an extraordinary number of mail-in ballots.
In what seems to be an unconnected question, Grant then asked, “Are you a member of the YouTube Partner program? If so, how frequently does YouTube demonetize your videos? Has YouTube sent you messages, emails or notices in the last year that your content contains misinformation?”
"This isn't about 'election misinformation,'" Shapiro said. "I have always acknowledged that Joe Biden won the 2020 election. I thought that Donald Trump had every right to legally challenge that election but I did not see the actual evidence that the allegations he was making about the election itself and fraud in the election was sufficient to overcome the state certification of the ballot.”
He pointed out that discussing changes to voting rules should not be classified as misinformation, citing previous coverage from both The New York Times and CBS News.
Shairo added, “This has to do with silencing anybody on the right- that is the goal and this is always the goal for the left.
It's always the goal for the New York Times which is supposed to be the tip of the spear in terms of freedom of the press and Free Speech [but] which is overtly clearly attempting to pressure the biggest video platform on planet Earth to shut off other press outlets.
So how would you get them to shut off press outlets and what does any of this have to do with the message Shapiro received from the reporter?
Shapiro explains, “That's the entire game: You run an article on the front page of the New York Times saying YouTube is subsidizing election misinformation and that pressures YouTube- which by the way is Google which is the number one donor to the Democratic party - you push them to censor any and all hosts any and all information that disagrees with the left.”
What is Media Matters?
Although it presents itself as a media watchdog, it receives funding from prominent Democratic donors. Shapiro claims that it is a far-left radical organization.
It has come under fire for many different issues, including maintaining tax-exempt status despite political activities, accepting a PPP loan during the Trump administration while criticizing the program and organizing boycott campaigns against conservative voices.
Notably, several other conservative media personalities have reported receiving similar inquiries from the Times.