So, folks are saying that the YouTube alternative Rumble is no longer welcome in Russia. Word on the street is, some users spilled the beans on Reddit and the anti-censorship hub Reclaim the Net. Rumble’s big cheese, Chris Pavlovski, even confirmed the ban himself.
According to Chris, Russia gave Rumble the boot because they wouldn’t play by their rules. Here’s the kicker – YouTube is still up and running in Russia. What’s the deal with that? What demands are YouTube and Google bending over backward to meet?
So, what did Russia want Rumble to do, you might ask? Well, as per Chris, Russia wanted them to censor certain channels. These channels did not violate Rumble’s terms. One channel was about marijuana, another was a conspiracy hot spot, and the third was a political Arabic channel.
Rumble has a history of standing their ground. Remember when they cut off France because they wouldn’t block Russian content during the Ukraine crisis? Now, Russia is giving them the cold shoulder. It’s a first for Rumble.
What really grinds my gears is the lack of media coverage on this whole fiasco. When Rumble had beef with France, news outlets like The Atlantic were quick to jump on the bandwagon. CEO Chris Pavlovski isn’t pleased with the radio silence either. Not a peep from mainstream media about Russia pulling the plug on Rumble – and it’s been over a day.
Rumble ain’t caving in to any government demands, at least for now. Russian users are resorting to VPNs to access Rumble content. Will Rumble stick to their guns or will they change tune? Only time will tell.
