SPRING FASCISM PREVIEW: YouTube Says Giorgia Meloni Video Was Removed in Error, Restores It After Inquiry.

YouTube removed a video of incoming Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni elaborating on her conservative vision for the country during a 2019 speech. This was a curious decision that attracted widespread scorn from conservative media outlets, given the recent interest in the philosophy of Meloni, who is expected to become the first woman to lead the country.

After Reason asked YouTube to explain why it took down the video, the social media site reversed course and restored it.

“Upon careful review, we determined this video is not violative of our Community Guidelines and have reinstated it,” says Ivy Choi, a spokesperson for YouTube. “We enforce our policies regardless of the speaker’s political views and when it’s brought to our attention that a video has been mistakenly removed, we review the content and take appropriate action, including restoring the relevant videos or channels—as we have done with this video.”

It’s not clear why the video was flagged in the first place. It’s a recording of a speech made by Meloni at the 2019 World Congress of Families. In her remarks, she pushes back on the idea that her views are fringe or aligned with fascism.

Funny how this keeps happening. Today it’s Twitter’s turn to send Meloni’s videos down the memory hole:

Hey, you know who else were once big on censoring their opponents…?

(Classical — and possibly NSFW — reference in headline.)