YouTube has agreed to pay $24.5 million for a lawsuit by President Donald Trump, who claimed that his account was wrongfully suspended on the platform in 2021. The account was restored in 2023, until which time Trump had been unable to upload any new videos.
Of the $24.5 million, $22 million will be paid to the Trust for the National Mall, which the filing says is dedicated to the construction of a $200 million ballroom at the White House. So…yeah, most of the money is going to go towards making a ballroom in the White House, if the report is to be believed.
Did you ever imagine YouTube paying for a ballroom in the White House?
Yes, funnily enough
41.67%
No, obviously not
16.67%
What is even going on?
41.67%
The whole thing sounds crazy at face value, but it kind of makes sense considering previous such settlements. For example, Meta paid $25 million in January to settle a similar lawsuit brought forth by Trump. $22 million of that money was given to a fund for the president’s upcoming presidential library in Miami.
So, it kind of tracks that most of YouTube’s settlement would be given to an organization working on something fancy for the president. Does it fully make sense? Perhaps not.
I’ll consider this punishment for the awful ad situation on the platform. | Image credit — PhoneArena
Trump alleges that YouTube, Meta, and X (called Twitter back then) silenced conservative voices. Meta, as mentioned before, settled the lawsuit earlier this year, and so did X. YouTube was the last one to give in. All three lawsuits were brought forth by Donald Trump in July of 2021.
YouTube is refusing to admit any wrongdoing in this case, and likely only paid to resolve the lawsuit and be done with it. The platform has also made it clear that it will not be making any product or policy changes after concluding the settlement.
In a similar vein, founder and CEO Pavel Durov has just claimed that French authorities offered him an easier time in court for silencing conservatives on Telegram. The authorities have expectedly denied the accusations of any wrongdoing on their part.
YouTube is far from the only platform that has been accused of silencing conservative voices. However, the topic is a very touchy one, with both sides of the political spectrum refusing to admit any wrongdoing.
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Abdullah loves smartphones, Virtual Reality, and audio gear. Though he covers a wide range of news his favorite is always when he gets to talk about the newest VR venture or when Apple sets the industry ablaze with another phenomenal release.
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