Censorship update — YouTube, X/Twitter, book
It never ends… but we don't have to passively accept it and suffer!
Thankfully, it has been a few years since I was last deplatformed. The list of “virtual assassinations” includes Barnes & Noble, Libro.fm, Walmart Kobo, Bandcamp, Audible, GetResponse, ActiveCampaign, Patreon, Medium, Amazon, ConvertKit, YouTube, Twitter, and Mailchimp. If I looked up the full list of audiobook distributors then there are probably more! Sadly, then censorship hasn’t ended, so here is an update.
YouTube video banned
Last October I did an interview with Alexander RaSOL on the topics of God, Christianity, spirituality, and current affairs. As you know, that’s skating close to Marxist media cultural taboos, so now it’s gone:
What’s my/our crime?
We’re back to “harmful conspiracy theories”. Also known as critical thinking and holding criminals to account. Another feather in my censorship cap! As always, the specific part of the content that is infringing is never highlighted, and there is no opportunity to provide remedy, so there is no natural justice involved.
You can still watch the interview here on Rumble.
X/Twitter
My sense is that X/Twitter is gearing up to be a major disclosure platform, as well a a “continuity of civic life” service in harsh times. The content being recommended to me in the “For You” feed in noteworthy in how it pushes getting fit, eating well, avoiding accidents, spiritual learning, and hidden history. Maybe it’s just that I have trained the AI well! But I suspect there’s an agenda in play.
That said, given the platform’s prior affinity to social media marketing, it is a hard place to make a living as a writer and photographer right now. Looking at my stats, the reach I am getting is absolutely crushed. Here is my tweet count, impressions, and new followers data for the last three months before I was banned in early 2021:
Oct 2020: 1332 tweets, 30.6 million impressions, 10400 new followers
Nov 2020: 1292 tweets, 39.1 million impressions, 20100 new followers
Dec 2020: 1367 tweets, 43.1 million impressions, 10700 new followers
And here it is now on the newly restored service:
Jun 2023: 360 tweets, 2.1 million impressions, 822 new followers
Jul 2023: 161 tweets, 1.2 million impressions, 463 new followers
Aug 2023 (to date): tweet count not available, 1.57 million impressions, 1125 new followers
The impression count and new followers are obviously linked to active you are, and I have been less active. Many people have also moved off Twitter in the last two years, onto Truth Social, Gab, and Telegram. So either that platform is struggling to keep users and attention, the data was/is untrue, or it is doing something to limit the reach of some people.
Either way, the huge energy I have put in over many years to build a following isn’t delivering the anticipated reach results, and the numbers don’t look right. Is it ongoing censorship? I can’t tell for sure, but it looks like it. Until X is transparent with all of its algorithms and boost/deboost status flags there will be a lingering suspicion that the game is rigged.
Barnes & Noble, Target.com
I self-published my book Open Your Mind to Change on Amazon (it got banned) and then Barnes & Noble (it got banned), before republishing it for a third time via Ingram Spark. They are a wholesale publisher who distribute through many retail platforms, so it is available via Amazon.com for instance (with ace reviews, I add) — just not as publication via Amazon’s own KDP platform.
As I have previously mentioned, if you go to Barnes & Noble now to search for it you get:
Sorry, we couldn't find what you're looking for. Please try another search or browse our recommendations below.
Similarly, it’s not on sale at Target.com. Yet you can buy it at Walmart.com.
In the UK/Europe, the book is stocked by Adlibris, Agapea, Amazon UK, Foyles, and Waterstones. Meanwhile, it is not available at Blackwells and Books Express. I would have to find other books from innocuous categories published the same way, and compare their distribution to determine if these truly are censorship bans — something too tedious to spend time on.
How to support my work
I have a policy of fighting back every time I get censored. Losing freedom of speech not only removes the right to speak your audience, and for them to hear what you have to say. It also denies you the ability to earn a decent living and have basic economic security. So if you want to become an ongoing supporter, you can subscribe to this Substack, support me monthly via SubscribeStar or Donorbox, or Buy Me A Coffee.
It’s such a horrible feeling to be censored or shut down in any way. We have to have it happen to us personally to understand what a feeling of helplessness it is for someone to violate our rights. When Elon took over Twitter, I never trusted him, but I’ve seen some great things come out that never would have been allowed before. I was booted off of Twitter in 2016 and never returned. I’ve been censored on so many sites I’ve lost count. I remember thinking after Elon purchased Twitter, wow, these self-righteous monsters are finally getting their comeuppance. I was elated, and then I heard Elon had a meeting at the White House, and shortly thereafter, he hired a creature who used to work for the WEF from what I understand. What, did he sell us out for the almighty dollar? Are We, The People, subsidizing another billionaire for nothing in return? The only people who benefit from our subsidizing them are the political mafia on The Hill. I don’t know what to think anymore. I just know it’s not over until it’s over, and we will once again have that feeling of elation when the light overrides the darkness and these monsters are made to pay for their dirty deeds. I have no patience for the righteous Left anymore. I’ve lost all tolerance for the intolerant. There will be no place for them in my future. They’re not my people.
Mine too — perhaps as a Public Utility?
“My sense is that X/Twitter is gearing up to be a major disclosure platform, as well a a “continuity of civic life” service in harsh times.”
Since Jan 2021, I’m still on perm suspension from (X)Twitter. Still, thinking we may be back with our fellow Patriots someday — timing is everything 😉
TOGETHER.
Q