Front Royal, VA, 07/02/08—YouTube.com, in what the Population Research Institute (PRI) is calling a case of blatant censorship, has removed a video from its website for the sole reason that it criticizes a pro-abortion journalist.
The video, edited and posted by the Catholic News Agency, shows PRI affiliate Carlos Polo in conversation with pro-abortion activist Eve Reinhardt. Reinhardt had obtained an interview with Polo by assuring him that she was impartial and balanced. Polo, however, discovered that she was affiliated very closely with a hard-left, pro-abortion documentary project, entitled The Decency Gap. Polo brought his own cameraman to the interview and confronted Reinhardt, accusing her of deliberately misleading him.
Shortly after this video was posted, the website for The Decency Gap vanished, and the video was taken down by YouTube. YouTube cited vague “terms of use violations” as their reason for censoring the video.
“As the editor of a news agency that strives to provide people around the world the truth about the Catholic Church and issues of concern to Catholics, I find it frustrating that The Decency Gap project is able to convince YouTube to remove a factual video without any explanation,” David Uebbing, executive editor of the Catholic News Agency told PRI.
“None of the information provided in the video has been contradicted by The Decency Gap,” he continued. “Additionally, the project’s links to the International Planned Parenthood Federation, Marie Stopes International, the Center for Reproductive Rights, and the Peruvian pro-abortion association PROMSEX have not been disproven.”
According to Uebbing, censorship of this kind is nothing new on YouTube. He points to the example of a video posted by American Life League, which was taken down for supposedly “inappropriate content.” This video criticized clips from two online Planned Parenthood ads. But while YouTube removed ALL’s video, it left the original Planned Parenthood ads online.
Catholic News Agency has since reposted the video, labeling it “The Decency Gap / Eve Reinhardt Censored Version,” as well as posting a version on Google Video as well. The video can be found here.
"Stop censoring people with whom you disagree," PRI President Steve Mosher told YouTube. "This is America, not the People's Republic of China."
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The Population Research Institute (PRI) was founded in 1989 by Fr. Paul Marx, OSB, PhD and is dedicated to: (1) ending human rights abuses committed in the name of "family planning", (2) opposing outdated social and economic paradigms premised on the myth of overpopulation, (3) informing the public about the social and economic benefits of moderate population growth, and (4) promoting pro-natal and pro-family attitudes and policies worldwide. Steven Mosher is the author of numerous books, including A Mother's Ordeal.
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PRI is a 501(c)(3) educational organization. We work to reverse the trends brought about by the myth of overpopulation. Our growing, global network of pro-life groups spans over 30 countries. To date, we have successfully eliminated $750 million in U.S. tax dollars to population control groups or programs.
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