YouTube Reinstates Christian Channel after Suspension over Controversial Interview
YouTube unplugged a Christian channel on Saturday over a controversial interview but was reinstated immediately after WND questioned the move.
On Saturday, Olive Tree Ministries was permanently suspended on YouTube after it posted founder Jan Markell's interview with Tom Doyle, but the action was reversed two days later after a media firm questioned it. The video featured a discussion on Doyle's book titled "Killing Christians: Living the Faith Where It's Not Safe to Believe," according to WND.
A YouTube spokesman told WND that the removal of Olive Tree Ministries' channel was a mistake and that the site was working to reinstate it quickly, the report adds.
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In an interview with WND, Markell described how shocked she was when she was informed about the reinstatement of Olive Tree Ministries' YouTube channel on Monday. Although she is happy that she will be able to continue her ministry via the video-sharing site, she was concerned about how the ban was implemented, the report relays.
YouTube informed Olive Tree Ministries about a second "strike" or a complaint on Saturday morning. The site warned that the channel could be suspended for two weeks. But just after a few hours, they were notified of a third strike and the permanent ban. Markell then asked for the process to be reviewed, but her appeal was rejected, the report details.
The third strike, which prompted the ban, came after Markell interviewed Doyle and talked about how some violent incidents nowadays occur in the same areas where Assyrians became the attackers two millennia ago. Doyle mentioned that anti-Christians are influential in that area, too. He also said the unplugging of the channel was a form of persecution, Charisma News reports.
"What this really is is a war on Jesus. This is evil regimes wanting to eradicate anything about Jesus on planet Earth," WND quotes Doyle's statement in the weekend interview. "There is persecution wherever people name the name of Jesus."
In an email, YouTube told Markell that the video of the interview, which was titled "Stories of Hope," was flagged as inappropriate and removed from the site. The offense, however, was not explained in the email. But after WND requested a comment from YouTube, the company only released a statement saying the permanent ban was just a mistake.
