YouTube decision follows questions sent by New York Times.
YouTube has blocked the account of Portuguese far-right nationalist group 1143 – led by notorious ‘former skinhead’ Mário Machado – due to hate speech promoted by the many videos that were being shared.
The decision follows questions sent to YouTube by The New York Times, which was following up on 1143’s demonstration “against the Islamisation of Europe” (organised in Lisbon at the beginning of February this year) as part of a much wider article on how online hatred against migrants spurs real-world violence.
The NYT took a global look at social media posts assailing immigrants, which, its writers explain, “have fomented a climate of fear in Britain, Portugal and other countries (…) Vitriolic language is now spilling onto the streets”.
“These networks peddle a toxic brew of bigotry online that officials and researchers say is increasingly stoking violence offline — from riots in Britain to bloody attacks in Germany and arson in Ireland. Establishing a direct correlation between online language and events in the real world is difficult, but researchers and officials said the evidence of a link has become overwhelming.
“What is said ultimately will shape what people will do,” Rita Guerra, a researcher at the Center for Psychological Research and Social Intervention in Lisbon who studies online hate in Portugal told the NYT. “That is why this is very concerning, not just for Portugal and Europe, but worldwide.”
YouTube’s response to the NYT’s questions was that “any content that promotes violence or encourages hatred of people based on attributes such as ethnicity or immigration status is not allowed on our platform (…) We are committed to removing the content as soon as possible.”
And that is exactly what happened.
According to Observador online, however, “it is not just on YouTube that the 1143 group spreads hate speech, especially against immigrants. Also on Telegram, through closed groups, its members multiply racist and xenophobic messages. In fact, it was in one of the Telegram groups that the demonstration that took place in Lisbon in February began to be organised, and which was not authorised by Lisbon City Council in the first instance – the 1143 group ended up changing the route of the demonstration, which was initially scheduled for the Martim Moniz area. At the time, PSP police issued an opinion that there was “a high risk of serious and effective disturbance of public order and tranquility” if this demonstration was authorised and, as a result, Lisbon City Council decided not to give the green light”.
But for ‘critics’ who agree with figures like Elon Musk – the man whose takeover of ‘Twitter’, now re-branded ‘X’, has seen the ‘return’ of previously banned far-right agitators – Youtube’s decision/ the NYT’s questions are examples of how the “worldwide left is, in an organised way, trying to silence the greatest nationalist Portuguese organisation of the last 50 years”.
And from the group 1143 itself, via ‘X’, the message is: “Follow us on Telegram. See the link in our bio. F***k the NYT”.
According to latest posts, Group 1143 is planning a major demo in Guimarães for the October 5 Bank Holiday, the purpose being to “reconquer Portugal” for the Portuguese.
Source material: New York Times/ Observador/ ‘X’ formerly Twitter
