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Ramaswamy urges YouTube to restore banned controversial creators
He framed the appeal as a defense of free speech, not support for the banned creators.
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Malvika Choudhary - Sat, 27, Sep 2025
- 16:20 EDT
- 18
Vivek Ramaswamy / X (Vivek Ramaswamy)
Indian American entrepreneur and Republican gubernatorial contender Vivek Ramaswamy called on YouTube to reconsider its recent bans, arguing that permanently silencing individuals undermines free expression and American democratic culture.
Ramaswamy’s comments came after the platform removed the channels of Alex Jones, a media personality and conspiracy theorist, and Nick Fuentes, a far-right political commentator and activist, shortly after they attempted to return. Jones had previously been banned in 2018 for hate speech and content involving minors, while Fuentes faced suspension in 2020 for hate speech.
Also Read: Ohio Plumbers & Pipefitters union endorses Vivek Ramaswamy
Framing the appeal as a defense of free expression rather than an endorsement of the controversial commentators, Ramaswamy, in a video message posted to social media, argued that permanently denying individuals a platform was corrosive to American democratic culture.
Dear YouTube… pic.twitter.com/ucaCSLhURh
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) September 25, 2025
“My understanding is in the last 24 hours, you locked the accounts and shut down the accounts of two guys, Nick Fuentes and Alex Jones. They have big followings on the American right. I think it’s better if you just unlock those accounts and let the guys be heard,” he said.
“The reason I’m asking you to do it is that censorship isn’t good for America. It’s antithetical to our culture. And we’re the country on God’s green earth where we’re able to talk to each other in the open,” he added.
Ramaswamy distinguished between different types of platform restrictions. He said that while there can be debates about moderating certain harmful content or demonetizing creators, a separate and more damaging form of censorship arises when platforms bar people entirely because of their identity.
“There’s a whole separate third category of censorship though that I think is particularly harmful, which is the idea that just because of who you are, your name and who you are, you don’t get to express any idea, whether it’s misinformation, hateful speech, dangerous, or whatever you deem it to be,” he explained.
Concluding his message, he asked YouTube to reconsider,“I’d ask you to restore the accounts of those guys. And believe me, it will be a down payment on beginning to reunite this country, a project on which we have yet a very long way to go.”
YouTube removed Alex Jones in 2018 after repeated violations related to hate speech and content involving minors, and Nick Fuentes in 2020 for hate speech violations. Both men built large followings before their bans.
The context of these latest bans is tied to Alphabet’s notification to Congress that YouTube will be allowing some creators removed under pandemic-era and election integrity rules to appeal for reinstatement.
Their attempts to return this week were swiftly blocked, with YouTube stating that the new reinstatement process has not yet begun and will initially operate only as a limited pilot. The company emphasized that it remains against its rules for previously terminated users to start new channels.
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