Is YouTube Discriminating Against a Christian Channel?

Is YouTube discriminating against Christians? 

Brendan Carr, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, is raising the alarm about evidence suggesting the tech giant—which has a long history of censorship—has unfairly treated a Christian family TV station. 

“[I]n the case of YouTube TV, concerns have been raised alleging that your company has a policy (secret or otherwise) that discriminates against faith-based programming,”?Carr wrote March 7 to Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet, and Neal Mohan, CEO of YouTube.  (Alphabet owns Google, which owns YouTube.) 

Carr says Great American Media, which is helmed by former Hallmark Channel leader Bill Abbott, drew his attention to YouTube TV’s refusal to host the network. Great American Media, which also includes TV star and outspoken Christian Candace Cameron Bure as chief creative officer, focuses on a range of faith-based and family-friendly content. 

“Great American Media states that its Great American Family network is the second fastest-growing channel in cable television,” wrote Carr, “and, while they are carried on a range of cable and streaming services, including Comcast, Cox, Hulu, FuboTV and DirecTV stream, YouTube TV refuses to carry them.” 

YouTube TV is not some small player in the world of modern television, where streaming and on-demand services handily compete with cable. In early 2024, Variety described YouTube TV—which then had 8 million subscribers—as “far and away the biggest internet-streaming subscription TV service in the country.”  

But according to Great America Media, YouTube TV is not a neutral host. “YouTube TV’s channel lineup … prominently features an overwhelming number of channels showcasing content with sex, violence, and profanity, while faith-based programming is almost nonexistent,” wrote Doug Deason, chair of Great American Media, to Carr. 

“Among YouTube TV’s 17 news channels, 12 lean liberal, while only four carry a conservative perspective. Critically, YouTube TV does not include key conservative voices like OAN or Salem News, further narrowing the marketplace of ideas,” Deason added. 

Donald Trump Jr., responding to Carr’s X post about his letter to the Alphabet and YouTube CEOs, indicated he wasn’t shocked by the allegation. “Is anyone surprised that Google is discriminating against Christian faith based programming?” he wrote. 

Perhaps not—and YouTube has only itself to blame. Yes, YouTube denies targeting Great American Media, with a representative noting that the network is allowed to post on YouTube itself, where it has over 100,000 subscribers. YouTube TV also carries other faith-based programming, such as “The 700 Club” and “Through the Bible with Les Feldlick.” 

But conservatives have reason to be wary of YouTube’s desire to play fair. 

For years, the video streaming giant has censored critical content, arguably more aggressively than other major social media platforms. 

The Daily Signal itself has been a victim of YouTube’s aggressive politically correct censorship machine. In 2019, the platform removed our video featuring Dr. Michelle Cretella, a pediatrician, speaking out about gender transition for children. Cretella’s offense was this sentence: “See, if you want to cut off a leg or an arm, you’re mentally ill, but if you want to cut off healthy breasts or a penis, you’re transgender.” 

In 2022, YouTube again took down a Daily Signal video, this time of Merianne Jensen, a Virginia mom who opposed mask mandates. The Daily Signal interviewed Jensen, who stated in the interview that “COVID is not being spread in the classrooms, it is not being spread by children.” YouTube told The Daily Signal the video was removed because it was “violating YouTube’s COVID-19 medical misinformation policy.” 

Conservative politicians have also been targeted. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., has had his videos taken down (videos of Senate hearings, no less) and his account suspended over his comments about COVID-19, as he wrote in a 2022 letter to YouTube. Johnson is in good company: Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., was also censored for his remarks about masks in 2021, as was Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., for her comments about the COVID-19 vaccine. 

President Donald Trump himself has been the victim of censorship from the tech giant, as well. YouTube removed an 82-minute speech he gave at a Heritage Foundation conference in 2022 because it “violated our policies pertaining to elections misinformation.” 

In 2022, prominent pastor John MacArthur preached against transgenderism. According to conservative commentator Todd Starnes, who now hosts a Newsmax show, YouTube said a video of MacArthur’s sermon violated the company’s “hate speech policy,” citing MacArthur’s remark that “There is no such thing as transgender. You are either XX or XY, that’s it.” 

So much for freedom of speech. 

Of course, YouTube isn’t a government entity. But neither does it claim to be a leftist platform. Perhaps YouTube simply considers Great American Media a poor fit for its TV platform for reasons besides its faith and family values. But given the streaming giant’s track record, it makes sense that people are asking questions and investigating.  

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