MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee Press Club has re-posted a video onto its website of Sen. Ron Johnson making controversial statements about the coronavirus - the same video that led YouTube to suspend the Wisconsin politician from posting on the platform for one week.
Last Friday, YouTube announced it had made the call for comments Johnson said during a Milwaukee Press Club Newsmaker luncheon on June 3. The platform also removed the video of the interview from the senator's channel as well as from the Press Club's channel.
During the interview, Johnson supported unproven, experimental treatments for COVID-19 such as Hydroxychloroquine and Ivermectin.
The Milwaukee Press Club has now uploaded video of the full interview onto its own website. The Club said in a statement Sunday that it believes providing information to the public - such as this video - extremely important, regardless of the political perspective given:
"We hold these on-the-record events with journalists so the public has access to politicians and other decision makers, so they can get a better understanding of what they are thinking when they make decisions that affect all of us.
As an organization that includes journalists as well as others who strongly support our nation’s First Amendment, the Milwaukee Press Club believes it is extremely important to provide information on topics of interest regardless of their political perspective."
YouTube said at the time it removed the video per its COVID-19 medical misinformation policies, which don't allow content encouraging people to use Hydroxychloroquine and Ivermectin to treat the coronavirus.
YouTube's misinformation policy states "YouTube doesn't allow content that spreads medical misinformation that contradicts local health authorities' or the World Health Organization’s (WHO) medical information about COVID-19."
Sen. Johnson pushed back against the decision from YouTube in a tweet Friday, writing that "YouTube’s arrogant Covid censorship continues. How many lives will be lost as a result? How many lives could have been saved with a free exchange of medical ideas? This suppression of speech should concern every American."
