Elon Musk questions YouTube for restricting Peterson-Robinson ‘controversial’ interview; netizens urge X owner to buy it

Tommy Robinson, often in the news for his extremist views, has once again become the centre of attention on social media.

Mikhaila Peterson, daughter of Canadian author and YouTube star Jordan B. Peterson, recently posted on X that she wanted to share one of the interviews of her father and Robinson on YouTube but was unable to do so.

“Wow. I tried to share @jordanbpeterson’s first interview with @TRobinsonNewEra where he addresses grooming. @YouTube has disabled sharing and commenting. Re-uploading to X on his channel. @YouTube you realize you’re on the side of the rapists right?SIC,” she wrote.

Sharing this post, X-owner Elon Musk tagged YouTube and wrote, “What’s going on, @YouTube?”

Robinson's controversial views on immigration and Islam and his inflammatory rhetoric have often landed him in controversies.

In October, Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, was jailed for 18 months after admitting contempt of court by repeating false claims against a Syrian refugee. 

Elon Musk had questioned the sentencing.

Here's how netizens reacted:

Several social media users reacted to Musk's post. While they criticised the censorship, netizens demanded that Musk, the owner of X (formerly Twitter), buy YouTube.

“Freedom of speech = freedom of reach. That is what is happening, Elon. We used to simply call it censorship before,” a user said.

Another user suggested, “Everyone needs to stop creating content on YouTube. It’s a censorship platform. Post directly to X.”

“YouTube is busy censoring as always. If they don’t like what you have to say or disagree with you, they silence you,” added yet another.

“Can you buy YouTube ELON?” one more user asked.

“Elon Musk, and this is exactly why you need to make your own platform that rivals YouTube!” suggested another user.

Some users also called out the irony of Musk questioning the censorship following the recent MAGA (Make America Great Again) controversy.

“This reminds me of what's going on with X with the suspension of accounts and the removal of subscriptions and verification badges,” a user said.

About Tommy Robinson

Robinson had also earlier served nine weeks of a 13-month sentence for illegally filming in court.

In 2018, Robinson's Twitter account was also banned for “hateful content.” However, it was reinstated in 2023 after Elon Musk took over. In November 2022, Musk announced a “general amnesty” to suspended accounts that had “not broken the law or engaged in egregious spam”.

Peterson's interview was criticised, and the former was accused of legitimizing Robinson's extremist views by associating with him.

It sparked widespread debate over whether Peterson’s willingness to engage with controversial figures like Robinson was an endorsement of their views or a demonstration of his commitment to free speech and dialogue.

Peterson defended the interview, arguing that he was giving Robinson an opportunity to explain his views, but critics argued that this helped amplify Robinson’s ideology and platform, potentially associating Peterson with far-right extremism.