Yesterday I got a message from a friend in Germany who told me she cannot watch John Oliver’s new video titled “The West Bank, JD Vance & Kamala Harris” that her boyfriend sent her from Serbia. This struck me as odd but also unsurprising, because John Oliver talks, amongst other things, about how Israeli settlements in Palestine are illegal. So I started investigating, asking my friends all around the world if they can see the video. Austria was a no, USA was a no, UK was a no, UAE was a no, India was a no. Then my friend with access to VPN got involved, and she checked the world for me. She then found a site that lets you tell where a video is blocked. Here is a map of all the countries where the video is blocked:
Now, some of these countries have YT blocked completely, but I really want you to ask yourselves why this video is blocked. Why is it blocked in countries where, as another friend has said, John Oliver is known and watched and trusted. I want you to think about that for a bit, and then I want you to wonder what it is that he says in this video that warrants it being unavailable for half of the world, and which half of the world that is. Why won’t they let a white British man speak to the audience of the “western” world. What is it that he has to say? Then maybe watch it, and come to your own conclusions. Some critical thinking won’t go amiss here.
Here is the link for the video on Instagram, which should be available to watch: LINK.
Lets be very clear. For years now, John Oliver has been a string example for effective “pushing left” of the center and liberal wing of our national progressive groups. He’s gentle, funny, welcoming of change, educational and informative, and adamently holds his line. The show is very much still meeting people where they are at (possibly part of its efficacy!) so it’s not like he’s always saying things the way farther left people would say them. But he is a subtle and consistent push left all the same.
It is…..concerning. that some of these countries have decided to bar viewership of this video. John Oliver is deeply cautious with his lawyers about what he can or cannot say and do. He crafts his episodes with intention and care.
What possible excuse could the United Fucking States of America have to censor a video about genocide and the current presumptive Democratic Nominee for president/Republican nominee for vice president from an internationally popular US news show? What could POSSIBLY be in that episode that justifies such a choice while we are in the midst of an authoritarian power struggle at the national political level?
I strongly recommend trying to find a way to watch the video or read a transcript so you can assess the answer to that question for yourself.
So it looks like (at least in USA) a copy has been reuploaded to Youtube (haven’t yet checked streaming for the full video, but was able to access the main segment on youtube)
I’m gonna dig more into this later but have to hop onto a work call.
