YouTube criticized over Neo-Nazi clips

[demoleft]

Source: Reuters/The Irish Times

Video-sharing Web site YouTube has met with harsh criticism in Germany for hosting clips that incite racial hatred, according to a news report due to be broadcast on German public TV late today.

The videos hosted on YouTube include clips of a 1940 anti-Semitic propaganda film "Jud Suess" and two music videos of outlawed German far-right rock band Landser, which show footage from World War II depicting Nazi military operations.

Report Mainz, which is due to air the program, said in a statement that Social Democrat (SPD) parliamentarian Dieter Wiefelspuetz said airing the clips on YouTube in Germany was scandalous. Report Mainz quoted him as saying: "Publishing these films amounts to aiding and abetting incitement of the people."

Report Mainz also said that Germany's Central Council of Jews Vice President Salomon Korn was considering pressing charges against Google Germany.



Read more: http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/breaking/2007/0827/breaking67.htm

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Neonazi violence in Germany is reported at the highest levels since 1990.

[demoleft]

1. EJP: "German Jews to complain against You Tube racial hatred videos"

"BERLIN (EJP)---The Central Council of Jews in Germany is considering a criminal complaint against You Tube for allowing videos that promote racial hatred and glorify war.

Such action makes the video-sharing website based in San Bruno, California, liable to charges of incitement to racial hatred, the council’s vice president, Salomon Korn, told the German television Sudwestrundfunk (SDR) programme Report Mainz.
...
Outlawed videos of the neo-Nazi groups “Kommando Freisler” and “Landser” were also available on the website, the television programme said.

You Tube is also airing since 8 months the war-glorifying clip “Sturmfuher in der SS” which, according to SDR, has already received more than 400,000 clicks."

EJP, http://www.ejpress.org/article/19546

[screenplaya]

4. When will Google take responsibility for anything? n/t

[lvx35]

2. They need to get past this and start meeting free speech with free speech.

I say put up ten anti-nazi videos for every one they put up, and mock them for the morons that they are.

[Taverner]

3. Can't exactly blame the Germans for censorship though

Although I abhor censorship, and don't support the laws - in fact I agree with you.

However - I can't exactly blame the German government for going overboard on the Neo-Nazis.

[lvx35]

8. Yeah, it makes sense. But for how long?

Were talking about things from 70 years ago? Will it go on for 90? 120 years?

[Taverner]

10. I know I know

Its a tough one - and censorship is one of those classic "law of unintended consequences" kind of things

[Lionel Mandrake]

12. A thousand years

That's how long Hitler expected the Third Reich to last.

[lvx35]

13. hee hee. Imagine that was imposed on the saxons by the normans.

British people would be forbidden from participating in anything associated with Saxon culture to this day. I wonder what that would entail.

[Lionel Mandrake]

14. Ivanhoe verboten!

[LeftishBrit]

17. Unfortunately Germany, like other countries, has its neo-Nazis NOW

I imagine it will go on until these people cease to be a danger. I hope it won't take 120 years.

ETA: I think there is sometimes a place for censorship. I don't think that there should be a TOTAL ban on people seeing these videos, which do after all represent a part of history that we need to know about; but I don't think that they should be available on YouTube. On YouTube, there is no control over who sees them and under what circumstances. E.g. children should not be watching them, and a neo-Nazi gang should not be showing them as a preliminary to a bit of racial violence. Most of all, perhaps, they should not be shown in any context whereby they could be easily mistaken for factual truth; and once a video gets onto YouTube it could easily get onto some site that represents it as 'the TRUTH!1'

[David__77]

5. Right.

I think that a combination of soft suppression combined with active political opposition is the best way to deal with fascism.

[populistdriven]

6. Education accomplishes far more and lasts longer than censorship

People always find a means to circumvent censorship.

[Dr. Strange]

9. That's beautiful!

Education accomplishes far more and lasts longer than censorship.

That should be a bumper sticker! :toast:

[Silent3]

15. Unfortunately, people also always seem to find a way...

...to circumvent learning anything.

(Edit: By the way, I don't approve of the censorship either.)

[Posteritatis]

18. Haha! That post is a perfect example of itself. (nt)

[JVS]

7. Censorship sucks. I like being able to see videos, even if they're fucked up and wrong.

[Dr. Strange]

11. You've got a typo in your post.

Censorship sucks. I like being able to see videos, especially if they're fucked up and wrong.

There, it's fixed!

[Doctor_J]

16. I think the videos are great propaganda FOR US

inside the mind of a conservative.