YouTube’s action does not prevent Giuliani from posting new videos or getting paid product endorsements on his posts, which he often does. However, it prevents him from getting any money from the ads that YouTube sells before a video starts playing.
YouTube spokeswoman Jessica Gibby confirmed that Giuliani had been suspended from the company’s advertising partner program after multiple violations of YouTube rules against posting misleading information about the recent presidential election. He can appeal the suspension after 30 days, she said.
In a text message, Giuliani said YouTube’s actions were “predatory” and “dangerous” and should raise antitrust concerns. “It’s a very, very seductive road to authoritarianism,” he wrote.
For more than a year, Giuliani has used YouTube to advocate a variety of Trump-friendly positions and has posted videos titled “The Biden Family Payout Scheme” and “Election Theft of the Century”. Some of his videos have also spread false conspiracy theories about the coronavirus.
Giuliani’s YouTube is a huge platform for the former New York Mayor to share his views. Giuliani’s YouTube channel has more than 500,000 subscribers and some of its videos have had more than 100 million views over the past year, although its viewership has been falling in recent weeks. The most popular of his videos released last month received just 1.2 million views.
It’s unclear how much money Giuliani could have made from YouTube’s revenue sharing program. Some of YouTube’s biggest stars make millions of dollars a year on the platform, but most have advertising contracts and solicit donations directly from fans, in addition to cutting down on ads. Giuliani also made money selling nutritional supplements and online fraud prevention services directly to his audience in the middle of his videos. Giuliani’s social media influencer business extends to Facebook and Instagram, where he frequently posts endorsements and product discount codes.
On January 20, Giuliani said some of his videos had been removed by social media companies. He’s re-uploaded them to his own website using the Rumble video hosting platform popular with Conservatives who claim Big Tech is censoring them. He posted the link on his Twitter.
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