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YouTube admits mistakenly designating video about antisemitism as 'hate speech' - again

Journalist Tom Gross's upload of recent BBC Panorama documentary on Labour antisemitism taken down for violating the site's rules on extremist content

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YouTube’s ongoing issues in misidentifying hate speech were highlighted once more as it wrongly removed the BBC’s Panorama exposé of Labour’s antisemitism crisis for violating its policy on extremist content.

A spokesman for YouTube admitted the tech giant had “mistakenly removed” Tom Gross’s upload, saying that it usually makes exceptions for content with “sufficient educational, documentary, news, scientific or artistic value”.

Mr Gross, a freelance journalist who has served as Jerusalem correspondent for the Sunday Telegraph, unsuccessfully appealed its removal.

But after being contacted by the JC, YouTube reinstated the video.

John Ware’s documentary, which aired on July 10, revealed the extent of interference by Jeremy Corbyn’s office in the handling of antisemitism allegations against party members.

It was the second of Mr Gross’s videos to be removed by YouTube in less than a month.

The first, a clip of investigative reporter Carole Cadwalladr criticising Google for suggesting antisemitic search terms, was taken down for breaching YouTube’s policy on “harmful content and hate speech”.

Mr Gross told the JC: “One could give them the benefit of the doubt that the initial ban was a mistake caused by a badly-set computer algorithm. The rejection of the appeal seems deliberate.”

A YouTube spokesman said the company uses a “combination of technology and people” to enforce its content guidelines.

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