A YouTube video promotion for the Alaska State Troopers went viral, after it became known that the video had been banned from the YouTube ad program because it was “too political.”
To be clear, Google/YouTube allow the video to be aired, but simply will not allow it to be promoted.
Google, which owns YouTube, notified the Department of Public Safety late last week that it was all a misunderstanding. There had been a lot of public blowback over the so-called “misunderstanding.”
So the Department thought its pay-per-click recruitment ad would get accepted. Only it didn’t, even after multiple inquiries.
“The Alaska State Trooper recruitment ad featuring Gov. Dunleavy is still in rejection status by Google despite the multiple appeals the DPS filed,” the department wrote on Facebook. “The DPS would appreciate if the tech-giant could resolve the ‘misunderstanding’, as they have public stated, so we can continue our efforts in recruiting quality applicants to provide public safety services to Alaskans.”
In the recruitment ad, Governor Dunleavy appears as a cameo at the end to say, “I support law enforcement because our public safety depends upon it. If you are looking for a change, think about coming to Alaska. We’d love to have you.”
That was the statement deemed too political for Google, which owns YouTube.
“This statement is not political,” said Governor Mike Dunleavy. “It is an encouragement to law enforcement officers across the United States to consider serving Americans in Alaska that value public safety and a call for more Alaska State Troopers so we can continue to combat the high rates of domestic violence, sexual assaults and other criminal acts that threaten a peaceful way of life.”
“At a time of extreme unrest in our country, having a platform like Google make a decision that a statement of support for law enforcement should be censored is wholly unacceptable,” said Commissioner Amanda Price. “This effort from Google to hinder the efforts of the Alaska State Troopers to recruit qualified applicants to provide essential services puts Alaskans at risk.”
The video has been viewed on the Must Read Alaska YouTube channel more than 12,500 times since we first found out about the problems the Alaska State Troopers were having with Google/YouTube.
Too
Much power concentrated there and absolute power absolutely corrupts. Need more competition !!
As you should know, private corps can do what they want.
Misunderstanding my —.
WAYNE COOGAN / JULY 19, 2020
I am confused about the lack of understanding of some commentators on this board. Only the government can censor anyone’s speech. Thoughtful people realize government edicts and laws are ultimately enforced at the point of a gun….. meaning, if we refuse to conform, we will eventually be arrested. If we resist, we can be fatally killed with a government-issued gun as a matter of legal procedure. Speech censorship could easily be a proximate cause your death-by-government if you resist.
As to Youtube, it is a private platform. It is entitled to make its own rules. If you don’t like their rules then don’t participate. Really simple. Calling it censorship or “soviet style” is the epitome of ignorance. In fact, the soviet style would be to compel Youtube to allow speech they disapprove of–act of totalitarian fascism–soviet style. You want change? Start a conservative Youtube platform and quit whining.
I couldn’t agree more ! Ed
Play the liberal game back at them, since they started this economic sanction thing (through threats of cancel culture) in private industry. If you can get you tube to worry about their image/bottom line enough they will change their tune. They don’t like anything right now which does not tow the anti police line unless it describes police as described by BLM. The video basically says in Alaska we generally like our cops. That is not PC today.
I encourage people to stop using Google and use Duck-Duck-Go for your search engine.
Yes, use it on your desktop and phone too.
This was a great ad…..let’s get out and recruit great law enforcement for Alaska….we hire the best of the best in law enforcement……that is a fact!
You sound like a State Trooper trying to defend your worst of the worst reality. I asked a friend of mine, an APD officer, why don’t you become a Trooper? He laughed so hard I thought he was going to die. FPD officers told me a joke…What do you call an Alaska State Trooper? Then there was a whole series of punch lines about why you didn’t want to call the Troopers . AST is a joke and you must be too if you think otherwise. None of the “best” wants to join the Troopers. Their arrogance and corruption might end up getting them killed…like the unnecessary death of Trooper Rich, one the actual good Troopers. Like I said, you must be a State Trooper, because you certainly posses the required quality of confusing “a fact” with fiction.
Maybe Google is aware of AST’s poor reputation. Long before the current BLM movement, whenever I’d mention AST to my lower 48 friends, or in forums, the inevitable response was a reference to Trooper Wooten driving around while drinking in his patrol cruiser and tasering his 10 year old stepson. There were over a thousand DEATH threats made TO the Troopers! The TeaParty Conservatives hated the Troopers long before the current liberal craze. No Governor has ever done anything to restore trust in AST and so the Troopers and their reputation has actually gotten worse. Recently a Palmer Trooper tried to pick-up a minor girl he had pulled over. I would suggest to the Governor that having his image associated with the Troopers is like having your picture taken with Epstein on his island!
Google backpedaling to CYA
Anyway to heck with what Google says
I support the men and women of Alaska Law Enforcement
They do a dam good job
Thanks, Coppers’
Google, and the above commentator, are driving the socialist movement, to the joy of the oligarchy in the Alaska legislature. There exists no other reason to eliminate the Trooper ad from income potential except to limit the freedom of speech of the Troopers and the governor.
You’ve been hanging with the wrong troopers. Nothing but admiration from me.
Yep, the Gov will get some real quality recruits on YouTube! They’ll fit in nicely with the lying, thieving, child tasering, pedophilic Troopers we’re used to. I’m sure they’ll appreciate being allowed to drink while driving their Trooper cruisers. This ad is “a call” for all the rejects from other states to come to Alaska and join our corrupt Trooper club where every Governor since Palin has been afraid to even try to control them…and look what they did to Palin!
There’s a law in economics: “Bad money drives out good” See a lot of silver coins these days? No! The same thing with Troopers. If no effort is made to root out the bad Troopers, and NO effort has EVER been made, then the inevitable outcome IS they’re all bad.
Sore perp. AK has some good troopers out of Dillingham, and Homer.
Social Media has no impartial editors, just political activists mascaraing as impartial editors. They got caught, fair and square, activating with the delete option.
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