Name: YouTube Is Removing Chinese Phrases Critical of China's Communist Party
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YouTube Is Removing Chinese Phrases Critical of China's Communist Party

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PCMag editors select and review products . If you buy through affiliate links, we may earn commissions, which help support our testing.(Credit: Getty Images)Is YouTube trying to protect China’s ruling party?&nbsp;For some reason, the comment sections on Google’s YouTube have been automatically removing two Chinese terms used to deride the country’s Communist party: “共匪" (Gong-Fei) and "五毛” (Wu-Mao).The first term means Communist bandit while the second phrase to internet users who covertly work to manipulate public opinion on behalf of China’s government. Try to type either term into YouTube’s comment sections and the post will mysteriously disappear about 30 seconds later.Internet users have been the issue as far back as November, when it was reported to YouTube's community page. But on Monday, Oculus VR founder Palmer Luckey called attention to the problem to his 70,000 Twitter followers.&nbsp;“This appears to be a new global policy on YouTube, not directed at me specifically,” Luckey . “Try saying anything negative about the 五毛, or even mentioning them at all.&nbsp; Your comment will last about 30 seconds and get deleted without warning or notice, CCP-(Chinese Communist Party) censor style.”However, Google is blaming a glitch. "This appears to be an error in our enforcement systems and we are investigating. Users can to troubleshoot errors and help us make product improvements," the company said in a statement. Despite Google's claim, the automatic takedowns are raising fears that YouTube is censoring the two terms in order to appease China’s government.&nbsp;“Who at Google decided to censor American comments on American videos hosted in America by an American platform that is already banned in China?” Luckey added. US Senator Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) is also Google to provide an explanation.&nbsp;Meanwhile, US Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) claims the whole incident underscores Google's monopolistic control over the internet. "This is WRONG &amp; Big Tech is drunk with power," he wrote in a . That said, you can still use English to criticize the Chinese Communist party in the comment sections. PCMag has also noticed you can upload videos with the phrases 共匪 or 五毛 in the clip’s title or in the video description.&nbsp;The comment removals would also mean little for users in mainland China. Since 2009, the country has been blocking access to YouTube after a video on the platform allegedly showed Chinese security officers beating up a group of Tibetans. To get around the ban, Chinese users have to use a .Still, YouTube remains accessible in Hong Kong and Taiwan, where citizens have been opposing China's reunification policies. Google was also trying to return to the Chinese market with a censored search engine, but it eventually the plan amid a public backlash.China's App Store pulls the pandemic simulation game 'Plague Inc'Sign up for What's New Now to get our top stories delivered to your inbox every morning.This newsletter may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. Subscribing to a newsletter indicates your consent to our and . You may unsubscribe from the newsletters at any time.Your subscription has been confirmed. Keep an eye on your inbox!AdvertisementEditors' Choice

PCMag editors select and review products . If you buy through affiliate links, we may earn commissions, which help support our testing.(Credit: Getty Images)Is YouTube trying to protect China’s ruling party?&nbsp;For some reason, the comment sections on Google’s YouTube have been automatically removing two Chinese terms used to deride the country’s Communist party: “共匪" (Gong-Fei) and "五毛” (Wu-Mao).The first term means Communist bandit while the second phrase to internet users who covertly work to manipulate public opinion on behalf of China’s government. Try to type either term into...

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Michael has been a PCMag reporter since October 2017. He previously covered tech news in China from 2010 to 2015, before moving to San Francisco to write about cybersecurity. He covers a variety of tech news topics, including consumer devices, digital privacy issues, computer hacking, artificial intelligence, online communities and gaming. You can reach him at michael_kan@pcmag.com

YouTube Is Removing Chinese Phrases Critical of China's Communist Party

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