Is this the first time anti-Israel politics have gotten to YouTube? Sadly, no.YouTube has censored “We con the world,” a parody that mocks the portrayal of the Free Gaza Flotilla as a humanitarian mission. The parody, which went viral, logging three million views in less than a week and has Russian, French, Portuguese, Hebrew and English versions, is a take-off of “We are the world,” the 1985 pop single produced in aid of humanitarian relief for Africa.
YouTube’s reason for shutting down the video sensation?: “This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by Warner/Chappell Music, Inc,“ YouTube tells those who try to access the parody.
This claim by YouTube is itself a con. As YouTube well knows, parodies are not subject to a copyright claim. To add to the absurdity of YouTube’s claim, YouTube carries numerous other parodies of “We are the world,” – a search on the YouTube site of “We are the world spoof” turns up 5,100 results.
YouTube’s real problem with this viral hit is the virus of anti-Semitism. “We con the world,” which portrays terrorists on the Gaza flotilla’s ship, the MV Mavi Marmara, explaining how they’ll con the world, hits too close to home for many Hamas sympathizers, who mounted a successful campaign to cow YouTube.
This isn’t the first time that YouTube succumbed to pressure from terrorist sympathizers. In 2008, YouTube yanked footage showing the conduct of the Israeli Defense Forces during its invasion of Gaza, which also didn’t fit the storyline of Hamas sympathisers.
No comments:
Post a Comment