I am just becoming familiar with BitChute, a U.K. video-sharing site that has apparently become a mecca for terrorists and other nefarious groups and individuals over the past few years. I get frequent email messages from someone about subjects such as “Covid-19 is a hoax”, “anthropogenic global warming and climate change is a lie“ and “the deep state is denying Trump his victory”. Most contain links to videos on BitChute videos. (Please do not refer to the email sender as my “friend” in the comments — I definitely do not consider him a friend — he is just an “acquaintance”).
Why do I continue to communicate with this person? Because I can — and he persists in sending me this crap while most of his crowd would have stopped emailing me long ago. I see it as a way to have insight into the soul of an irrational and deluded “enemy of reason”. He and his ilk are a danger to a free and democratic human civilization, and I want to know what happens in that crowd at a grassroots level.
BitChute, as well as other video and information sharing online platforms like it, present a very real threat of violence against innocent people and groups like Jewish people, LGBT and even “liberals” and Democrats (in the USA) in general.
So my questions are:
- Can and should terrorist-supporting platforms like BitChute be banned or allowed?
- How far does “freedom” go in a “free” society with respect to the issues I am discussing?
Below is some of what the internet tells us about BitChute. (And please don’t worry about visiting
BitChute (LINK) to see the “face of he enemy”. It is not riddled with viruses and malware, and a few dozen — or even a few hundred visits — won’t add significant numbers to it’s ratings. BitChute is actually more popular — it currently has more daily page views and unique visitors than DailyKos. That’s a lot of people looking at things we abhor!
THE CASE AGAINST BITCHUTE:
BITCHUTE EXISTS TO CIRCUMVENT THE MODERATION OF MAINSTREAM PLATFORMS, AND IS AN INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT HUB FOR TERRORIST PROPAGANDA, INCITEMENT TO RACIST VIOLENCE AND COVID-19 MISINFORMATION.
[Note: Not all videos posted at BitChute meet those criteria. Many videos at BitChute are benign, but that is how propaganda works - blend good information with bad to make the bad look rational and reasonable.]
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Overall, we rate BitChute extreme right and questionable based on the promotion of conspiracy theories, propaganda, hate speech, poor sourcing, fake news, and a lack of transparency. This source is not credible for accurate information and may be offensive to some (most).
Country: United Kingdom
World Press Freedom Rank: UK 35/180
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