Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador is protesting a decision by YouTube to remove a video of a February 22nd Press Conference from Mexico City.
Uploading a thirty-five-second video protesting against what he calls an assault on free speech, the Mexican President complains of censorship by the oligarchs who control information.
YouTube removed the video because the president released the personal phone number of a New York Times reporter, Natalie Kitroeff, for publishing what the president labeled lies.
The article alleges that President Andrés Manuel López Obrador took money from the Mexican Cartels in 2018. The president called those allegations lies during the February 22nd press conference. He also released the phone number that he received from correspondence from her requesting comment for her article. YouTube, calling this a violation of community standards, removed the video.
The Mexican President uploaded a thirty-five-second protest video entitled: Postura del presidente sobre la plataforma digital YouTube — Position of the president on the digital platform YouTube.
The video which is simply an animated white text on a black background of thirty-five seconds long translates to the following.
“By censuring, YouTube took down the video of the press conference from February 22 because, according to them, it ‘infringed on the community standards.’
“This is a dominant and authoritarian act. It is completely decadent.
“The Statue of Liberty has become an empty symbol.
“Unfortunately, we begin the fight for the transformation by sharing our mission and not only without the support but rather against the media of manipulation of the oligarchy.
“Neither the mafia of control nor the underworld of journalism can silence us.
“As Quijote would say: Liberty, Sancho, is one of the most precious gifts that men received from the heavens. It cannot be matched by the treasures of the Earth nor the sea that covers it; by liberty, as honor, one can and must adventure.”
rjcarr02134 is a New England based writer.