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In late September 2025, a rumor began to spread that Google had
admitted to censoring content on YouTube at the behest of the
administration of former U.S. President Joe Biden, a Democrat. The
claim stemmed from a statement by the House Judiciary Committee,
chaired by Rep. Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican. The statement linked
to a letter from an attorney for Alphabet, Google's and YouTube's
parent company. The statement was titled "Google Admits Censorship
Under Biden; Promises to End Bans of YouTube Accounts of Thousands of
Americans Censored for Political Speech." However, the truth was more
complicated. While the lawyer's letter said Alphabet had received
pressure from the Biden administration to remove content on YouTube
regarding the COVID-19 pandemic that "did not violate its policies,"
it also said it had made its own decisions regarding content "about
how best to balance freedom of expression with responsibility,
including responsibility with respect to the moderation of
user-generated content that could result in real-world harm." In
other words, the company did not admit to censoring political speech
on YouTube at the Biden administration's request. It said it had
received pressure from the Biden administration to remove some content
related to the COVID-19 pandemic that did not break its rules. It also
said it had fought pressure to remove content "on First Amendment
grounds." The letter also said YouTube had terminated accounts that
had repeatedly broken its previous policies, both on election
integrity and COVID-19. Given that its rules had changed to include a
broader range of content, it said YouTube would now reinstate those
accounts. The letter did not say those policies were in place due to
political pressure from the Biden administration. Advertisement:

In late September 2025, a rumor spread that Google had admitted to
censoring content on YouTube at the behest of the administration of
Democratic former U.S. President Joe Biden.

Several posts on X shared the claim, adding the same screen capture of a document that read "Google Admits Censorship Under Biden; Promises to End
Bans of YouTube Accounts of Thousands of Americans Censored for Political Speech." They amassed millions of views combined.

What the letter actually says

Alphabet's lawyer's letter said the company had received pressure from the Biden administration to remove content on YouTube regarding the COVID-19 pandemic that "did not violate its policies." On Page 2, the letter read:

Senior Biden Administration officials, including White House officials, conducted repeated and sustained outreach to Alphabet and pressed the
Company regarding certain user-generated content related to the COVID-19 pandemic that did not violate its policies. While the Company continued to develop and enforce its policies independently, Biden Administration
officials continued to press the Company to remove non-violative user- generated content.

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However, the letter also said YouTube had made its own decisions on content "about how best to balance freedom of expression with responsibility, including responsibility with respect to the moderation of user-generated content that could result in real-world harm."

Further, the company also said it had fought pressure to remove content "on First Amendment grounds:"

It is unacceptable and wrong when any government, including the Biden Administration, attempts to dictate how the Company moderates content, and
the Company has consistently fought against those efforts on First
Amendment grounds.

In other words, while the company said the pressure from the Biden administration was "unacceptable and wrong," it did not admit to censoring political speech on YouTube at the Biden administration's request.

In addition, the letter said YouTube had terminated accounts that had repeatedly broken its previous policies, both on election integrity and COVID-19. Given that its rules had changed to include more types of
content, it said YouTube would now reinstate those accounts. The letter did not say those policies were in place due to political pressure from the
Biden administration. Page 4 reads:
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The Company terminated channels for repeatedly violating its Community Guidelines on elections integrity content through 2023 and COVID-19 content through 2024. Today, YouTube's Community Guidelines allow for a wider range
of content regarding COVID-19 and elections integrity. Reflecting the Company's commitment to free expression, YouTube will provide an
opportunity for all creators to rejoin the platform if the Company
terminated their channels for repeated violations of COVID-19 and elections integrity policies that are no longer in effect.

In sum, according to the letter, YouTube enforced its own policies, not
ones dictated by the Biden administration.


https://www.snopes.com/news/2025/09/25/google-youtube-biden-censorship/
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