“The Interview” is the 2nd Time YouTube Stood Up to a Govt Trying to Ban a Movie

innocence-of-Muslims

The first time was when Obama leaned on YouTube to take down the “Innocence of Muslims” trailer which it was busy pretending had been behind a series of internationally coordinated Jihadist attacks on US diplomatic facilities on September 11, the most famous of which was the Benghazi attack.

I don’t like Google as a company, but it did the right thing with Innocence of Muslims, continuing to keep the movie trailer up even when the White House was telling it to take it down, and continuing to defend the right to show the trailer even now in a case that has gone to the Supreme Court.

With the “Innocence of Muslims” many felt that the amateurishness of the production and its crude qualities meant that it should be dismissed. But that was never the point. Just as the non-existent artistic merits of The Interview aren’t the point.

Foreign totalitarian entities shouldn’t be put in the position of being able to censor anything in the United States, no matter how offensive it is or how badly it’s made, whether they’re Muslims or Communists.

The internet is both the biggest boost to free speech and the biggest threat. The situation with The Interview shows us how true that is.

Considering Google’s power over the internet through its search monopoly and its YouTube ownership, it’s a good thing that despite its many flaws and downright troubling behavior, it has taken a classical position on free speech, hosting and defending controversial content.

  • Texas Patriot

    Google is pretty cool.

  • http://ruleofreason.blogspot.com/ Edward Cline

    Foreign totalitarian entities should be given the Monty Python “Holy Grail” and “Life of Brian” treatment (and The Interview doesn’t even come close to that), or at least what Charlie Chaplain did to Hitler in The Great Dictator. Tyrants are fair game and perfect candidates for mockery and satire.

  • Bamaguje

    “Foreign totalitarian entities shouldn’t be put in the position of being able to censor anything in the United States, no matter how offensive it is or how badly it’s made, whether they’re Muslims or Communists” – DG.

    But they do: “The future must not belong to those who slander the prophet of Islam” – Obama.

    • Texas Patriot

      Bamaguje: But they do: “The future must not belong to those who slander the prophet of Islam” – Obama.

      The truth is that the future will probably not belong to anyone who resorts to the futile and impotent strategy of slandering their enemies. The combined worldwide forces of Islamic Jihad welcome slander as a recruitment tool. When the American people go to war, we do not waste time slandering our enemies. Nor should we waste any time slandering the forces of Islamic Jihad.

      • Bamaguje

        War isn’t won only on the battlefield, but is also a battle of ideas…Hence both sides deploy propaganda.
        Islam is at war with the rest of humanity, and Obama thinks we shouldn’t fight back in the battle of ideas.

        • Texas Patriot

          Bamaguje: War isn’t won only on the battlefield, but is also a battle of ideas…Hence both sides deploy propaganda. Islam is at war with the rest of humanity, and Obama thinks we shouldn’t fight back in the battle of ideas.

          Propaganda, i.e. intentional lies and distortions in order to create false perceptions and generate hatred of an enemy, never really wins anything, either in war or in peace. Truth is a much more effective weapon in the war of ideas. As Sun Tzu pointed out over 2500 years ago, wars are won by superior intelligence, superior strategy, superior planning, superior execution, and the effective use of scarce recourses to disrupt, degrade, and destroy an enemy.

          Unfortunately, the strategy of the West during most of the last forty years has played directly into the hands of the forces of Islamic Jihad. Hopefully Obama will be regarded by history as one of the transitional leaders through which the West begins to fight in a much smarter way than we have in the past.

          In that regard, I recommend to you Shane Harris’ new book @War in which he outlines the aggressive buildup of American cyber warfare capabilities which was begun under George W. Bush and accelerated under Barack Obama.

  • Space Cowboy

    After all this time all it has is a little over 80,000 views. Katy Perry’s “Roar” video, on the other hand, has over 740, 000,000 views in less time. Yeah right Obama, it was this video that riled up the natives.

  • Slumdogpreacher

    Down with ALL TYRANTS, because they ARE NOT SUBMITTING TO THE AUTHORITY OVER THEM; for if they did, they would treat their people differently. The fact that Kim Young On does whatever is necessary to stay in power proves that He is a TYRANT, and deserves to be REMOVED! The North Korean people have become his hapless victims. Remember what happened to UNCLE ADOLPH.