Recognized as a far-right outlet that spreads misinformation and reactionary ideological campaigns, the Terça Livre channel was shut down by YouTube. The channel had already received two strikes (or warnings) against its content for violating rules, and according to YouTube's rules, a third strike means automatic removal.

The pro-Bolsonaro channel, which promotes speeches full of extremist affectation and narratives that are, at the very least, dubious, has reached 1,1 million followers. This reflects a significant amount of the reach of content that reinforces a biased perception of reality among a segment of the population.

Victimhood as a narrative weapon

Even though, after the account was closed on the platform, the victimizing tone is strong on social media such as Twitter and Facebook in profiles that support Terça Livre, the fact that YouTube closed the channel is not even remotely considered persecution. We recently published that researchers found no traces of censorship in the actions of the platforms against the so-called conservatives. On the contrary, it was found that the predominant discourse on social media comes precisely from this ideological wing of society.

The researchers also warned that victimization in situations like the current one is another type of disinformation, based on a political strategy to control the narrative. The far right, which also calls itself “conservatives,” not only did not tone down the fake news, but it intensified the practices even after Donald Trump left the US presidency.

Rules for everyone, without exception

The first warning was given to the channel after it published a video with false claims about the US election. The platform does not allow content that undermines the integrity of the presidential election. The second warning came after other content published contained “incitement for others to commit violent acts against individuals or a defined group of people”.

So-called conservatives in the US also make many unfounded criticisms of the result that was obtained. Donald Trump of the country's presidency. Another item in common between American extremists and the narratives promoted by Terça Livre is the level of content published, which can result in acts like those at the Capitol, which occurred on 06/01.

In order for YouTube to finally shut down Terça Livre, the channel committed a third violation of the platform's rules. The creation of a reserve channel to circumvent the sanctions and publish new content was the trigger for the more severe procedure. When contacted by Folha, YouTube sent a note stating that all content “must follow our community guidelines” and that the platform “reserves the right to restrict the creation of content according to its own criteria”.

The content that was being published through the trick that Terça Livre tried to pull off on YouTube was accompanied by requests for donations via QR code. With the end of the channel on the platform, Allan dos Santos and his collaborators lost an important source of income to support themselves.

Through which channels you reach those people, classic and out of the box. Sheet

Image: Claudiodivizia (iStock)